Want Me Too!
by brady66
Summary: ***NOT a one-shot anymore***...Beth was with the Atlanta group and all she wants to do is go home to see if her family is safe at the farm
1. Chapter 1

_**Ok everybody...this is just a little one shot (that might end up being a two shot if you all like it) that I had running through my head. In this one, Beth is with the Atlanta group before the farm...**_

* * *

Beth watched from her perch on the RV steps as the scene played out in front of her. She had a smile as she watched Andrea and Amy run toward each other and hug tightly, so thankful to see each other again. She watched as Morales hugged his wife and kids, T-Dog embraced Jacqui and Dale embraced Glenn. She was so thankful that her friends, these people that she had come to trust over the past few weeks, were back safe. She noticed that Merle was not with them, but assumed that he was still in the truck, trying to sneak a quick fix. She looked up when she heard Shane ask Morales how they got out, her ears perking when she heard him reply "New guy, got us out. Hey, helicopter boy, come and say Hi"

The next thing she knew, she saw Carl take off, screaming "Dad" toward the "helicopter boy" who was actually dressed more like a cop than anything else. She looked at Lori for a moment, seeing the look of shock and horror on her face. She knew from her late night talks with the woman that she thought her husband….Rick she thought his name was….was dead…..Shane had told her he was dead. But this man now hugging Carl was most certainly not dead. And as for Shane, his look was a mixture of happiness and sadness, which would probably confuse most people….but Beth Greene, was not most people and knew things that people didn't think she knew.

As she watched the beautiful reunion, her mind wandered to her family. Would she ever see them again? She knew they had to be alive, but would she ever make it back to the farm? She had asked Shane a few times if they could head toward her farm, just to see. But he was set on staying where they were, and then maybe heading to Fort Benning. The last time she had asked, which was just two days ago, she ended up crying down by the quarry. She only stopped when she heard a twig snap behind her. When she twisted around, she saw Daryl Dixon standing there, watching her, his eyes narrowed at her as they ran across her body, seeming to look for what caused her emotional state.

"Ya a'ight?" he asked, his thick southern accent sending shivers down her spine. She nodded and wiped her eyes, then flashed him a small smile.

"Yeah, it's just Shane….well he is such….he's such an….." she started, trying to say the word that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Such an ass?" Daryl stated with a grunt, causing Beth to giggle just a little as she wiped her eyes one more time.

"Yeah, that" she added as she turned back to look out at the quarry again.

"He do somthin' to hurt ya?" His voice behind her asked, in a low growl. If Beth had not been so close to him, she would have missed it. She turned back to look at him again, this time seeing a look of anger and worry in his eyes.

"No, not really" she said as she slid herself over a little bit, making more room on the log she was sitting on, her silent invitation to have him take a seat beside her.

"Then why are ya cryin?" he asked as he moved around and sat down, his crossbow falling in between his legs. She wondered for a second if he went everywhere with it cuz she never remembered a time since Daryl and his brother joined the group that he didn't have it.

"I want to go home, to my family. I tried to convince Shane to take us by there, just so I could see. But he refuses and as you know, its Shane's way or no way" she grumbled out the last part. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, really she didn't. When Glenn and T-Dog had found her on the side of the road, fighting with a few walkers, the rest of the group took her in. Got her fed, and cleaned her up. She would always be eternally grateful to them, but she had to know if her family was ok.

"Where's ya home?" he asked her, his head turning toward her as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his front shirt pocket.

"It's on the outskirts of Senoia. If we are as close to Atlanta as it looks, it's about an hour or so away. I just want to find out if my family is ok. If they survived" she said sadly as a tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away in a hurry and sucked in some air to breathe out.

"How'd you get separated from 'em?" he asked, a curious tone in his voice. She realized that he probably never had heard the story. Him and his brother stayed away from the rest of the group for the most part. She figured they had their reasons, maybe just untrusting of people.

"I had been in Atlanta for a few days checking out colleges when it first broke out. The last time I spoke to my Dad, he said they were staying at the farm and he wanted me to get home as soon as I could. He wanted to send my brother Shawn after me, but I told him that I could get home. I had no idea how bad it actually was out here, or what really was going on. I finally got out of Atlanta, which I was only able to do because I started going down the wrong lane of the highway. But I only made it a little bit outside of Atlanta when I broke down. Bessie was not the most reliable of vehicles and"….

"Bessie….ya named ya car Bessie?" he asked, an incredulous look on his face.

"Bessie was a truck, thank you very much" she stated as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded toward him. His lips turned up into a small smirk and then he motioned for her to continue.

"So I packed what I could into my backpack, said goodbye to Bessie" Beth didn't miss the snort from the redneck beside her "and started down the road. I only got about a mile away from my car when I was surrounded by three of those _walkers_. I didn't know how to fight them, how to kill them. Thank god that T-Dog and Glenn drove by right then and saved me. And the rest is history" she said with a small chuckle, then her face turned sad again.

"I just have to know they are safe. I appreciate everything everybody has done for me here, but I need to get home to them. I have too. I guess if Shane won't take us, than I will just have to leave" she stated, trying to make her voice sound as firm and as strong as she could. Even though the thought of leaving by herself was terrifying.

"Can't go leavin' by yourself girl" he stated as he looked at her. She wondered what he saw when he looked at her like that. Probably the same thing that everybody else saw, weak.

"Nobody can stop me from going" she stated, her tone starting to sound angry. She was not a prisoner here, she could leave if she dang well wanted too.

"Not what I meant girl. I just meant that you can't go alone. I will take ya…well I mean me and ma brother will. We was thinkin' about leavin' anyway" he stated gruffly as he finished his cigarette and smashed it into the ground by his foot, then started rubbing his neck with his hand as Beth watched the tips of his ears turn red.

"You mean it?" she asked softly as she turned fully to face him, the excitement clear in her eyes and in her voice. Yes, she was not sure about leaving with the Dixon brothers, but she knew, knew in her heart that Daryl would never hurt her, or let anybody else hurt her either. She didn't know why she knew this, considering this was the first time she had ever really talked to him, but she knew.

"Wouldn'ta said it if I didn't" he mumbled as he pulled his thumb to his mouth and started chewing on the skin around it.

"Thank you so much Daryl" Beth squealed as she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. When he tensed up under her, she removed her arms like she was burned.

"Sorry Daryl, I get overly excited sometimes, won't happen again" she mumbled, a small smile on her face. He looked at her for a second and saw him physically release a puff of air.

"A'ight, get now girl. I will talk to my brother and let ya know when we leave." He said gruffly as he motioned for her to go on back up to the camp. She smiled at him and stood up, only stopping when she felt his hand on her arm. "And don't leave camp without some kinda protection again, ya hear? Take this!" he growled as he shoved a small knife into her hand. She looked down at it and then back into his eyes. 'my god his eyes are beautiful' she thought to herself as she smiled again at him.

"Thank you Daryl." She whispered sweetly as she leaned in and kissed his cheek quickly, knowing he would tense again, then took off toward the RV.

She remembered she slept peacefully for the first time that night.

She was brought out of her daydream when she heard the cop…..Rick….mention Merle. Her eyes went wide when she heard him state that they left him chained to a roof in Atlanta. Her thoughts instantly going to the redneck that had comforted her the other night. Daryl was going to go thru the roof when he heard about this. She knew he would want to go after him, save his brother. And she would go with him, willingly….if he wanted her too!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Last week when I watched the Season 1 marathon I thought how sad it was how Daryl had nobody standing up for him when everybody was going on and on about how horrible a guy Merle was...I'm thinking that is where this story came from...Not sure how many chapters it will be, but I know I'm not finished quite yet...hope you all love it! And I know I didn't get all of the dialogue right...sorry about that :-)**_

* * *

"Why? Why in the hell did I say anythin' to that girl? Why did I even follow her down to the quarry? Then I had to open my big, fat mouth and actually offer to take her home. What the hell came over me?" Daryl grumbled to himself as he tracked the deer he shot through the woods. He had caught sight of the deer a little while back and hit it in the ass, but it took off with his arrow still sticking out of it. He would have hit it right in the heart, but his mind kept wandering to the blond girl with her sad blue eyes. So now he was paying for his lack of concentration and had to find his deer before one of the walkers got it. But of course as he walked, his mind wandered back to the girl. He had heard Shane raise his voice at her and was just starting to stand to but a stop to it, when he saw Beth walk off toward the quarry. Shane started to walk off toward her but Lori stopped him, pulling him over to her to talk about what had happened. While everybody was watching Shane and Lori "discuss" what had happened, he snuck off to find the blond.

Merle was actually ok with Daryl's decision for both of them to take the young girl home. Daryl thought it most likely was because of what they were planning anyway, they just wouldn't tell Beth they did it before they left….but another part of him thought it might have had something to do with something Merle had said one night while he was high around their small camp fire. It had been a few days after they joined the group and he had been watching Beth as she sat beside of Glenn around their camp fire, laughing at something the man had said to her.

"Baby brother, doesn't she look like an angel?" He mumbled to Daryl as he nudged him in the side and nodded toward Beth.

"What are you talkin' about Merle?" Daryl asked, already frustrated with his brothers drug use. There was far more important things to worry about right now than getting your next fix.

"Doll face over there….she looks like an angel. 'Member that angel that Momma had way back in her closet? The one she pulled out that one time and showed us? She looks like her" Merle said with a slur as he laid down on the ground by the fire. Before Daryl could answer him, he was asleep. He sighed and looked over at the object of Merle's drug hazed attentions. He had to admit, she was a pretty girl, young and soft and not cut out for this world. She did look like the angel Merle had mentioned, the memory of his Momma showing him that angel from her childhood that she had to keep hidden in the back of the closet so their father would not destroy it in one of his drunken rages.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a scream. As his ears perked up, he heard another scream and he headed off in that direction, deer forgotten for the moment. As he made his way into the clearing, he found his deer, lying on the ground. It was half eaten and surrounded by the group. From what he could make out just by glancing, it was Carl and Sophia's scream he had heard and the dead walker lying beside of his prey had been taken out by the group when they heard it. Anger filled Daryl as he saw the half eaten deer lying there.

"Look at it, all gnawed on! By this filthy, disease barren, motherless, poxy bastard!" Daryl growled as he kicked the dead walker over and over.

"Calm down son" Dale stated, trying to soothe the situation, but instead it just riled him up more.

"What do you know about it old man? Take that stupid hat and go back to beyond golden pond" he stated, getting into the older man's face and then turning back to his deer. He hated the fact that he let it get away as far as he did….all because he kept letting his mind wander to a certain blond girl.

"What do you think, can we cut around this part?" he asked, already knowing the answer but figuring he would ask it anyway.

"We would not want to risk that" Shane said, putting his rifle behind his back.

"Shame! Got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. That will have to do" he stated, and started to take off toward camp, turning his attention back to the ground when he heard jaws clacking together.

"Come on people, what the hell" he said as he put the bolt threw the walkers head. "It's gotta be the head. Don't you people know anything" then he took off toward the tent he shared with Merle. He caught sight of the blond sitting on the RV steps. He tried not to nod at her, he really did. But when he saw the look in her eyes, he knew something was wrong, so he nodded toward her. Silently asking if she was ok. When she slightly shook her head no, he knew he had to get Merle.

"Merle, come on out here, we got us some squirrel's. he yelled as he cast another glance at Beth and sat his stuff down on the log beside their tent.

"Daryl, we gotta talk to you about something" Shane said as he made his way toward Daryl. Daryl turned and looked at him, this time noticing the guy standing next to Shane.

"Yeah, what about?" Daryl asked, flashing another look at Beth. He could see by the look on her face she knew what was coming and he didn't like the look she had.

"It's about Merle" Shane said and a pain shot through Daryl's chest. It felt like something was squeezing at his heart.

"Is he dead?" he asked, his voice cracking just a little.

"Not sure" Shane replied, causing Daryl's blood to boil

"What do you mean yer not sure? Either he is or he aint….not too difficult" Daryl growled

"There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just gunna say it" the new guy beside of Shane spoke up and Daryl whipped around to him.

"And who the hell are you?" Daryl asked, his eyes narrow as he eyed the new guy up and down.

"Rick Grimes" the new guy stated. Grimes? Why did that name sound familiar to Daryl.

"Rick Grimes! You got somethin' you wanna tell me?" he growled out, pushing the thoughts of familiarity out of his head to focus on Merle.

"Your brother was a danger to us all. I handcuffed him to a roof in Atlanta" Rick started

"Let me process this? You mean to tell me you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there?" Daryl asked, as his anger boiled over and he lunged for Rick. In an instant he felt Shane wrap him up in a choke hold and this asshat Rick Grimes was kneeling in front of him telling him to calm down and that they were going to have a calm discussion. But out of all of that he heard one voice louder than everybody elses.

"Let him go" Beth screamed from in front of the RV at both Shane and Rick. They both looked over at her, Shane letting go of his neck just enough for him to jump up.

"Beth, stay out of this, it's not your concern" Shane stated, his voice full of authority. Beth just snorted at him and shook her head, she was tired of him.

"Go to hell Shane!" Beth stated, her anger growing at seeing Shane try to choke Daryl "His brother was left in Atlanta. Yeah it was not intended but that doesn't make a difference to him, it's his family" she continued, Daryl's eyes never leaving hers. He had never, in his life had somebody stick up for him. He felt the tears starting to form and had to do something, anything to keep them at bay. He also saw Shane starting toward Beth and got in between them.

"Tell me where he is, so I can go get em" his voice cracking as he angrily looked at the group in front of him.

"He will show you. Isn't that right?" Lori said, coming up to stand beside of Beth.

"Yeah, I'm going back" Rick stated, looking from Lori to Daryl. Daryl nodded and then turned to go gather his gear.

* * *

He felt Beth walk up behind him before she said anything. Her footsteps were light but still had a click to them due to her cowboy boots.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly, her voice sounding sort of timid.

"Gotta be" he replied as he packed a spare water bottle in his bag.

"He is gunna be fine" she stated with so much conviction he turned to look at her, then instantly regretted it when he got caught in her eyes.

"You don't know that girl" he growled out lowly, not wanting the others to hear his thoughts.

"Yeah I do" she replied with a head nod

"How?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her as they roamed all over her.

"Because he is a Dixon, and I am 100% certain that nothing can kill a Dixon but a Dixon" she replied, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yeah, guess yer right" he replied, a smirk starting to form. But just as soon as it did, it was gone as they heard another argument forming in the group.

"Your really going to go risk your life for a douchbag like Merle Dixon?" Shane asked Rick as he marched toward the new guy. New rage built up in Daryl.

"Choose your words more carefully" he growled as be pointed a bolt toward Shane.

"Oh I did. Douchbag is what I meant" Shane said, going back to arguing with Rick.

"Merle Dixon is not worth one of your lives" Lori added as she sat on a log watching the scene. Beth's eyes locked onto his at her words. He knew these people didn't really give a damn about either of them, but to hear it actually come out of their mouths just fueled his anger, until he heard that angel's voice.

"He is a member of this group, just like everybody else" Beth spoke up, looking from Lori to Shane and then locking her eyes back onto Daryl. "You might not like him, and he might not do the same thing for you but he deserves us going back to get him. He was just left there in this sun and heat"

His eyes never left hers as she spoke, again this girl was defending his brother to these people. A part of him didn't blame them for not wanting to go back and get Merle. Hell a small part of him didn't want to go either, but he was his brother, his only living family. He had to go get him. And now Beth, sweet kind Beth was standing up for all guys named Dixon and it made this funny feeling start to grow in his stomach.

"Beth is right" Rick said as he smiled at her slightly and then turned his attention back to Shane and Lori, continuing their conversation. As they did, Beth walked over to Daryl. He looked down when he felt something poke his arm.

"Here, take it. You might need it" Beth said as she tried handing over the knife he had given her the other day. He shook his head no and pushed it back toward her.

"You keep it. Something might happen here. Keep it on you always" he replied gruffly as he dug through his bag till he pulled out what he was looking for. Then he grabbed her free hand and gently placed the butt of a gun inside of it, folding her fingers over it.

"You keep this too" he replied just above a whisper. "That walker was too close, you stay safe until Merle and I get back and then we will go. You mighta lost a few friends stickin up for me and Merle like ya just did" he added, his eyes locking onto the ground. What the hell was he doing talking to her so much and giving her one of his guns?

"Don't care if I did" she said with a sigh as she smiled at him. "Thank you Daryl" she replied softly after a few moments as she tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans and covered it with her oversized t-shirt

"Naw, thank you Beth" he replied, his voice still a whisper.

"Ya want me to go with you?" she asked as she met his gaze again. Her eyes really were beautiful, like a huge pool in summer time that you just wanted to dive into and never come out of.

"Naw, you stay here where it's safe. We will be back and then we will go. Keep that gun on you ok" he stated. She nodded her head in a reply and he gently patted her arm and took off toward the group and the box truck. He stopped mid stride as a thought hit him and he turned back around, finding her awaiting eyes still on him

"Ya know how to use that right?" He asked, his eyebrow raised just a little. Beth let out a small chuckle and flashed him a smile

"Farm girl...remember Daryl?" she replied back. Her reply causing a smirk to fall on his lips. He nodded at her and then turned back around and headed toward the box truck. She sent a silent prayer up to anybody that could be listening to bring them back safely.


	3. Chapter 3

_**I am thrilled beyond words for the turn out that this fic has gotten. This is the first time I have actually gone all the way back to season 1. Just a little FYI, I have made Beth a little bit older than what she was on the show. For my fic, she is already going to be 18. I hope you all continue to like this. Sorry there is not too much Bethyl in this chapter, but after this one, there will be TONS more!**_

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The group had been gone for a few hours when the ladies, minus Lori, were washing clothes down by the water. Beth took her mind off of Daryl being gone by listening to them talk, smiling along and even joining in a few times. She smiled brightly when they asked her what she missed most about the old world.

"Pizza. A nice, hot pizza with the cheese melting all down the sides" she said with a sigh, causing the other ladies to giggle. Amy, the one closest to her age, nodded in agreement as she added that she missed her phone, and texting.

Beth felt her cheeks get a little red when Andrea said she missed her vibrator, and when Carol added that she did too, they all started laughing. Beth watched as the older woman smiled, something she never really saw her do. Beth wasn't stupid, she knew that Carol's husband Ed was not a good person. She had seen the bruises on Carol, and the look of fear in their daughter Sophia's eyes.

"What's so funny?" Ed's voice called over to them all, Carol instantly freezing up, the joy in her eyes vanishing as she focused back on her wash. Beth silently prayed that he would just leave them alone, but of course that was not the kind of man Ed was. He saw a bunch of woman sitting around and he wanted to try to push his weight around. Before Beth knew what was happening, Andrea was in his face, telling him that Carol could do what she wanted and that he couldn't hurt her anymore. Ed started calling Andrea names and grabbed Carol by the arm, causing all the other women to stand up. As they did, Ed backhanded Carol, and in an instant all of them were lunging for him. Next thing she knows, she feels hands on her arms and she is being pushed roughly to the ground, as she hears Ed growl out to her, calling her a "stupid slut"

Before anybody else can do anything, Shane is there and he has pulled Ed away and is pummeling his face in. Hit after hit, the sound of bones breaking under his fists and Beth can hear him growl at him, telling him that if he ever touches any member of the group again, he would not hesitate to kill him. Beth watches as Carol cries helplessly for the asshole that is her husband as Shane finally stops beating him and storms off. She shakes her head at Carol, watching her rush to Ed, crying over the guy that had just hurt them. She rubs her back, already starting to feel the bruise that is forming from where she hit the ground and decides she will go and try to take a nap. Hopefully by the time she wakes up, Daryl will be back with the group and he would have found Merle.

* * *

Beth woke up a little later and slowly climbed out of the RV. She saw everybody sitting around, fawning over Amy and Andrea and the huge stack of fish they had caught. She looked around, instantly noticing that the group was not back yet and a frown formed on her lips. Hopefully they had not run into trouble. She saw Carl was looking a little worried as he sat beside of Lori, who had her eyes narrowed at Shane.

"How are you feeling Beth?" Andrea asked her, concern written all over her face. Beth smiled up at her, there were times that she reminded her a lot of her sister Maggie.

"I'm fine, a little sore but I will be ok" she replied as she sat down beside of Carl, throwing him a small smile. The boy smiled back and then leaned into his mom.

"I'm gunna go clean these up, so we can fry them. You two want to help?" Shane asked as he took the fish from Andrea and Amy and looked at Carl and Sophia. They both nodded eagerly and raced off after him. They all chuckled as they watched them happily talk about skinning fish.

"Um Beth, can I ask you something?" Lori asked, clearing her throat and shifting just a little.

"Sure, what's up?" she asked, curious as to what she wanted to ask her.

"Is there something going on between you and Daryl Dixon?" Lori questioned, her eyes finally focusing on Beth's.

"What do you mean something going on?" she asked her, her eyes narrowing just a little bit.

"Has he tried offering you something? You know that him and his brother are not good people and you defended them today. I am just worried that you might be being manipulated by him" the brunette explained, but her explanation just infuriated Beth.

"First, Daryl didn't offer me anything. He has just been a nice guy to me. And his brother might not been a great person, but none of you have ever even bothered to get to know Daryl. Just from the few conversations I have had with him, he has been nothing but nice to me. He has not manipulated me at all, and everything nice he has done for me he has not asked for anything in return. _NOTHING_ at all!" She wanted to emphases the last part because she knew what Lori was implying and it pissed her off that she thought Daryl was like that and that she was that easily manipulated.

"I'm gunna go and lay back down, my back still hurts" Beth grumbled out, suddenly not wanting to be around the other ladies.

"We will wake you when the food is ready, Beth" Amy called, throwing her a sympathetic smile as she walked by. Beth smiled back and nodded her thanks as she made her way back into the RV.

* * *

That night, the earlier discussion was forgotten and everybody was sitting around, enjoying their fish when suddenly they heard Amy scream. All of them jumped up in time to see a walker taking a bite out of Amy's arm. Andrea went running toward her as a few more walkers scrambled toward their group. Shane pulled all of them behind him. Beth decided to take up the rear and pulled out the gun that Daryl had given her. She thought back to all of the gun training her Dad and brother Shawn had given her and remembered that it was a head shot that would take the walkers down. She fired as she saw a walker get close to Carol and Sophia, the older woman looking panicked for a moment, relief washing over her face when she saw the walker fall to Beth's gun. Shane threw her a look quickly, one that she took to read 'were the hell did you get that'

But there was no time to discuss that right now as the walkers kept coming out of everywhere. She saw a few of the members of her group fall to them, as they struggled to get closer and closer to the RV. As she fired her last shot, she slid the gun back into her pants and went to grab her knife, just that little bit of time led to a walker being able to walk up on her. As she felt slimy hands grab her arms, she started trying to shake it off as it overpowered her and caused her to trip over a tree root and stumble to the ground. She pushed and pushed, but closed her eyes as the decaying face started to come down on her. As she said a silent prayer to say her goodbyes, she felt the weight of the walker instantly gone from on top of her and she felt an arm pulling her up. As she opened her eyes, she was met with the striking blue eyes of the archer, eyeing her all over as he gasped for breath.

"Are ya bit?" He growled out, his eyes still traveling over her, searching for anything wrong. Beth just shook her head and before she could stop herself, or second guess what she was doing, she flung herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, clutching him for dear life. She felt him tense for a moment and then sigh into her hair as his hand came up to rest on her elbow. All around them, the walkers were quickly being put down.

"Thank you for saving me Daryl" she breathed out as she looked up at him. He nodded to her, his eyes still locked onto hers. She could see the sadness in them, instantly knowing that the trip didn't go well. But before she could ask, she heard the sound of sobbing. She turned her head to see Andrea, leaning over Amy's body. She saw the girl's bloody hand reach up and gently stroke Andrea's face and then fall down. Beth gasped at the sight as her heart broke for Amy and Andrea. The tears started falling, the only thing comforting her at the moment was the feel of the strong arms that gripped her a little tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ok...next chapter...hope you all like it :-)**_

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"We need to put a bolt in her and be done with it." Daryl growled at the group standing around him. He couldn't understand why they were just letting Andrea lay there with Amy's dead body. They needed to get her moved, get her buried. They didn't have all of this time to grieve, they were not safe anymore.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Shane questioned him

"Take the shot! I could hit a squirrel in the eye from this distance" Daryl responded, disgusted with the entire mess.

"That's not what we do, who we are" Lori said, sadly looking over at the two. Daryl growled under his breath and started to walk over to the pile of walkers when he saw a streak of blond hair come out of the RV. She had been helping move their dead all morning and had gone inside to get clean for a moment. He watched her with narrowed eyes as she slowly walked over to Andrea. He clenched just a little and grabbed the strap of his crossbow as he watched her. He had seen Andrea pull a gun on Rick earlier and there was no way he was going to let her do the same thing to Beth. But as Beth slowly approached, she saw Andrea turn slowly toward her and motion for her to sit beside her. She sat down beside of her and Daryl watched as Beth slowly ran her small hand over Amy's cheek, while she placed the other one on Andrea's shoulder. He couldn't figure out where this girl got all of the goodness inside of her. How somebody as pure as her could even exist in the old world, let alone out here when the dead were walking the earth. "To damn pure for your redneck, good for nothing ass!" his father's voice rang in his head as he turned from the scene and stomped over to the pile of walkers to start loading them up to burn.

* * *

The gunshot rang out about a half hour later, signaling that Amy had come back and Andrea had taken care of it. He felt a bit of sadness for the woman, taking a second to think of his brother, but that second was all he would allow himself to feel for him. It was his dumbass fault how things went down. He was probably still high and strung out when he cut his own hand off with a dull saw. But he knew, without a shadow of a doubt that Merle was alive out there somewhere. His brother was the toughest sumbitch he knew.

The sound of Jacqui calling out that Jim had been bit brought him out of his thoughts of his brother as he turned to see Jacqui standing beside of Beth, her eyes wide and blue as they both looked at Jim with worry and fear. Daryl took off toward them, grabbing Jim's shirt as he tried to turn away from the ladies. As he did, he saw a circle bite mark on Jim's stomach.

"Oh god!" Beth gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand as Jim kept mumbling to himself that he was fine.

"We need to end this! No discussion, he has been bit. He needs to be taken care of" Daryl growled out at the small circle of people that were standing around. All of them would throw small glances toward Jim, who was sitting up against the back of the RV.

"I never thought I would say this, but I agree with Daryl on this" Dale stated. 'Yeah, thanks old man…I think' Daryl thought to himself as he thought about how he didn't want Jim around them with the risk of becoming a walker. He didn't want him anywhere near Beth. Just the thought of her being near Jim if he turned caused his skin to crawl and he couldn't figure out why he cared so damn much.

"Is that what you would want?" Rick asked Daryl, bringing him out of his thoughts of the blond. His eyebrow was raised with the question.

"Yeah, and I would thank ya while ya did it" he growled back at him.

"We don't kill our own" Glenn stated angrily, causing Daryl's blood to boil. All of these damn feelings, all of these emotions. You get soft, you get killed. He couldn't risk that. He needed to get his head back in the game.

"Fuck this!" He growled as he took the ax off of the ground and spun around, charging toward Jim. He stopped when Rick raised his gun and pointed it at his head.

"We don't kill the living" Rick growled.

"That's kinda funny when you got a gun pointed at his head" Beth angrily spit out from her standing spot beside of Glenn.

"Why don't you ask Jim what he wants?" Beth continued as she looked between Daryl and Rick, both men slowly lowering their weapons.

"Why don't we try the CDC? I heard they were close to discovering what this was before everything went offline" Rick stated, looking at the group. "Maybe they can help Jim"

"I think we should try Fort Benning. More fire power, higher walls" Shane stated. Daryl turned to look at Beth just as she turned to look at her. Her eyes told him everything he wanted to know, that she still wanted to go to the farm, no matter what the group decided. He nodded in reply to her silent question and the small smile that spread across her lips made him realize that he would do anything to make sure it stayed there.

"All these fuckin' feelings" he mumbled to himself as he turned back around and continued loading their dead onto the truck to be buried.

* * *

After the small funeral that they insisted to have, Daryl was sitting inside of his small tent sharpening his knife when he heard a slight knocking at the side of the tent. He could make out a narrow silhouette and knew exactly who it was.

"Yeah?" He mumbled out, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious to know why she was coming to his tent. It was one thing for her to stick up for him, as he has realized she has been doing more and more lately. But now to make it known she was coming to talk to him, it would not look good for her to be associating with him.

"Can I come in for a minute?" She asked softly as she leaned into the opening of the tent. When she did, any thought of him telling her no went out the window. The way she stood there, the firelight gently making her hair glow and her eyes twinkling in the light of his flashlight made her look every bit the angel Merle had called her.

"Sure, you're the one slumming. Not gunna do wonders for your reputation" he grumbled out as he moved over a little bit, giving her room to sit down. He saw her shake her head and let out a small sigh as she moved inside and sat down.

"I have never been one to worry about my reputation Daryl, and anyway, I don't think I'm slumming with you." She replied with a smile as she picked up one of his bolts off of the floor. He watched her run the bolt through her fingers, gently caressing it. Something about watching her stroke it, the gentle way she was holding it, like she cherished it, sent a jolt through his body. He snatched it from her, not being able to handle watching her anymore and sat it behind her.

"Why ya here Beth?" He asked lowly, just above a whisper. He watched as she raised her eyes to meet his, and instantly he was swept away in the current that was her eyes, being dragged away into the depths.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. Ya know with everything that happened to Merle" she softly spoke, looking back down at the floor and fumbling with a string that was sticking out from her cut off shorts. Just the mere mention of Merle got his blood boiling again. The stupid dumbass should be there with him.

"I'm fine!" He growled. "Don't worry; I will still take ya home. Just because Merle is gone does not mean that is gunna change" he spit out at her with narrowed eyes. He saw her flinch just a little and instantly felt bad that he had yelled at her. He wasn't good with even having somebody to talk too, never really had a friend growing up.

"I wasn't asking because of me, Daryl. I was asking because of you. He was your brother and you loved him no matter what" she said softly, her voice timid.

"Why do you care?" He asked her, his eyebrow rose in curiosity. He still could not believe that somebody as good as her would even want to talk to somebody like him. He was a no good, piece of shit redneck asshole, who had an even bigger asshole for a brother. And this sweet girl, this beautiful girl, acting like she cared thru him for a loop.

"I don't know. Maybe I just have a soft spot for all guys named Dixon?" She replied with a small smile and a chuckle.

"Don't waste your time. Not worth it" he replied with a grumble as he turned his eyes back down to the knife that he was sharpening. He felt her start to stand up, his breathing hitched when he saw her hand move over top of his, stilling his movements.

"I will decide who I think is or isn't worth my time! And Daryl Dixon, you are very much worth my time. I will see you in the morning. "She said softly as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Before he even had time to think, she had whisked herself out of his tent, leaving him there with the feel of her lips burnt into his cheek and the thought of her saying that he was worth it going through his head.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you so much to all of you that have reviewed, favored and followed this story! I appreciate it more than you know. I hope you continue to like it and that I can live up to your expectations.

* * *

Beth stepped down off of the RV steps in time to hear Lori say that going to the CDC was decided. She lifted her eyes to watch as Rick nodded in reply as Shane stormed off toward the quarry, obviously not happy with the decision. She stared after him for a moment and then turned her attention back to the group, her eyes locking onto a certain rednecks. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she started walking toward him, his eyes racking over her as he sat on a log that had been placed beside the fire. She tried to ignore the butterflies that took flight in her stomach when he gazed at her like that. It didn't happen all the time, but it was starting to become more frequent. She wondered what would happen when it was just the two of them on the road. Would he continue to look at her like that? Would he get tired of her? Would he just take her to the farm and just leave? Or would he ask to stay there too? Her heart sank just a little at the thought that he would leave. In just a few short days since the first time she had talked to him, she had grown attached. The thought scared her a little.

"So what was all that about?" She asked softly as she sat down beside of him. He snorted just a little as he watched the rest of the group discussing how they were going to work out the trip.

"They decided to go to the CDC. Take Jim and see if they figured anything out. They are hopin' that they can save 'em" Daryl said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You don't think they can?" She asked him, looking over at the RV where they had moved Jim. She had taken care of the sick man the night before, his fever slowly rising. He was starting to have delusions now, thinking she was his wife, so Jacqui had taken over to make him less stressed out. She felt a lump in her throat forming, sorrow for Jim and fear that this fate could happen to any of her family, blood or bond.

"Naw, I think it's all a damn fairy tale" he spit out, Beth's face dropping just a little at his bluntness. His eyes locked on hers again for a moment, then he cleared his throat to continue. She noticed that the tips of his ears turned red before he spoke again. "The CDC might know what is goin' on, might know somethin'. But it's too late for 'em, Beth. It's too late. You know, he is already talkin' crazy"

"Yeah I know" Beth said softly as she twisted her fingers together and her gaze went back over to the RV. She let out a sigh as she heard Jim scream out, asking for his wife. She felt a trader tear slide down her cheek. She gently wiped it away as she turned back to look at Daryl, his brilliant blue eyes narrowed just a little at her.

"What's wrong? Somethin' happen?" he asked her, his gaze drifting to the ground for a second, almost shyly, then back up to lock onto hers. His face might have been stone, not giving anything away, but his eyes told a totally different story. She thought she could probably get lost in them forever, but now was not the time for thoughts like that. She didn't have time to get lost in his eyes. She took a breath and wiped another stray tear.

"I was taking care of Jim last night. He was ok during the night, the fever not that high, but this morning" she stopped, taking a deep breath "this morning he started calling me his wife, begging me to forgive him for not being able to protect me. Not being able to protect their kids. He didn't know what was going on and he was crying and grabbing for me. Jacqui came in and he ended up passing out from the fever. She said I should just let the rest of them take care of him, since he gets worked up when I am around" she took another breath as her lower lip trembled "I just wanted to help" she finished softly, bending her head down to wipe away more tears. She didn't want to cry in front of Daryl. She had done that enough already. She felt him move just a little beside her, then felt a strong hand just barely touch her shoulder.

"Ya didn't do anythin' wrong, Beth. Ya was tryin' ta help." He stated gruffly, a hint of sadness in his voice too. Beth sighed again and gently laid her head on his hand that was still resting on her shoulder. She felt him tense when she did and raised her head back up as he pulled his hand away.

"Sorry" she spoke softly, just above a whisper. He grunted something to her that sounded like "it's nothin'" causing her to smile just a little.

"So what is our plan?' she asked after a few moments, turning her head to face him, her eyes meeting his gaze again.

"Our plan?" he questioned, his eyes narrowed again

"Yeah, are we going to the CDC, or are we just going onto the farm?" she asked, her voice coming out sounding more unsure then what she actually felt.

"What did you wanna do? I promised you I would take ya to the farm and I will" he stated, his gaze watching her intently.

"I know. You would make sure I got there, no matter what" she said, her voice firm in her belief.

"You do huh?" he asked, his eyebrow raised at her

"Yeah, I do. You are a man of your word Daryl Dixon and you said you would take me and you will" she said with a small smile, which only grew when she saw him duck his head at her praise. She wanted his opinion though on the CDC, no matter what it was. If he wanted to go there first, she would go with him. "What is your opinion on the CDC? Do you want to go check it out? If you do, I am ok with that" she continued, his eyes looking back up at her. She could see the thoughts running behind his eyes, but could not figure them out. So many questions and unknown things about this man in front of her.

"I think it might be worth knowin' if they have an idea what this is. Maybe they have somethin' worth findin' out. But it's up to you Beth" he stated as he pulled his thumb up to his mouth and started gnawing on it.

"I think your right. Maybe they will have information we can take back to the farm to tell my Daddy. We can possibly help the people that live in the homes around the farm too" she exclaimed, her smile getting brighter with the excitement that was forming.

" _WE_ can do that?" he questioned, causing the butterflies to crash into each other in her stomach. She hadn't realized she had included him on actually doing stuff after returning to the farm. Her wishful thinking spilling out. But hell, what did she have to lose right, life was short, might as well speak what you feel sometimes.

"Yes, _WE_! I don't plan on sending you away after we get to the farm. You will be more than welcome to stay, unless you want to leave" she stated as she looked at the ground, her words growing softer at the finish. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her again

"Yer Daddy might not agree! He won't want a no good redneck asshole hangin' around his house or his daughter" he mumbled out gruffly, causing her head to jerk back up so her eyes could meet his gaze.

"Daryl Dixon, you are not a no good redneck asshole!" she exclaimed firmly as she took his hand in hers. She felt him tense but she didn't care, she was going to get this out. "You are strong, brave, loyal and sweet when you want to be" she said as she held her gaze on her hand holding his.

"You know nothin' bout me girl" he gruffed out, but didn't try to pull his hand away.

"I know enough!" she stated firmly as she lifted her eyes back to his and nodded her head in agreement with herself as she let go of his hand.

"So you got yer stuff packed already?" he asked after a few moments of silence, both of them staring off toward the RV.

"Yeah, it's been packed sine you told me you would take me home. I wanted to be prepared if we needed to make a quick get away" she said with a small smile. She caught a smirk pulling on Daryl's lips while something that looked like pride spread across his face quickly.

"That's good girl, real good. Grab your gear and throw it in the back of the truck" he stated as he stood up. She raised her eyebrow at him when he turned to face her, smirk still on his lips growing bigger at her questioning expression.

"Well ya can't go back into the RV and we are leaving to go to the CDC. Thought you might want a ride?" he said with a chuckle as he turned around to grab his stuff. She smiled as she watched him, then stood to go head toward her stuff. She slowed just enough to whisper to him as she walked by.

"Would love a ride Mr. Dixon"


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everybody...it's time for a little driving with Daryl Dixon...CDC here we come!

* * *

Beth watched the scenery fly by from the passenger seat of Daryl's truck. Every once in a while she would look out of the side mirror and just make sure the bike was still there in the bed of the truck. She knew that Daryl had secured it, but she also knew how important Merle's bike was to him, so she didn't think a quick check would hurt.

She hid a quick glance over at Daryl under the disguise of fixing her hair blowing in the wind and smiled just a little. He was chewing on this thumb while he had his arm folded out of the open window, his other arm lazily holding the steering wheel. They were in the very back of the caravan of vehicles going toward the CDC. It wasn't as many people as it should have been, as a few of the people decided that they were going to go on their own. She hadn't talked to Morales much, but his wife and kids were really sweet and she said a silent prayer to whoever was in charge now that they made it safely to where they were headed.

She turned her gaze back out the window and thought back to when they were getting all the cars packed and the seating situation worked out. She hadn't said anything about riding with Daryl, she just threw her pack in the back of the truck and walked back over to help everybody else.

"Beth, there is room in Rick's SUV, my jeep or the RV, which one you want to go in?" Shane asked as he hauled a pack into the back of his jeep.

"I'm riding with Daryl, so don't worry about it" she said casually as she went over and picked up one of Carl's bags for him to help him load it into the SUV.

"I don't think that is a good idea Beth" Shane stated lowly as he ran his gaze from Daryl to Beth and back to Daryl again. Beth could see the anger flaring up in Daryl as he rose to face Shane and decided to speak before he could. The way that some of these people treated him infuriated her.

"Thank you for your concern" she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. " But the last time I checked, you don't have a say in who I ride with. So I'm going to ride with Daryl to the CDC. I am safer with him than anybody else anyway" she stated forcefully as she slammed down Carl's bag into the SUV, secretly hoping that there was nothing breakable in there. "Daryl, I will be in the truck when you are ready" she finished as she turned her narrow, angry eyes from Shane to Daryl. In an instant they changed from angry to somewhat shy as she caught the look in his eyes, that look she still could not figure out. He nodded at her and she stormed off, ignoring the calls of her name from Lori and Glenn, instead climbing into the passenger seat of the truck and slamming the door.

She smiled slightly when she thought about Carl coming over a few minutes later, the only one that dared come over to her while she sat in Daryl's truck. He smiled at her and told her that he thought she was right and that Daryl was a good guy. "He brings us something to eat for dinner every night and makes sure we don't starve. I like him" he said with a nod and a smile. She smiled back and asked him when he got so smart and he shyly looked at the ground and said "I heard my Dad say it to my Mom last night about Daryl and I agree with him. Ok, gotta go Beth" he said with a wave as he ran off toward his Dad who was waiting for him by the SUV. She continued to smile as she thought about how even Rick was starting to see the good in Daryl. It made her feel a little relief that she was not the only one that noticed it.

"What ya smilin' at girl?" his gruff voice broke her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to face him, finding the faintest of smirks on his face.

"Just thinking" she said sweetly as she took the hair tie out of her hair and grabbed at all of the flying pieces to put it back up in a neater ponytail. Once she did that, she looked back at him, finding his gaze on her, while still kinda watching the road in front of them. He had that same look in his eyes, the one that caused the butterflies in her stomach to crash into each other and river dance.

"What?" She asked softly with a smile, that one word all she was able to get out of her throat from the butterflies and the dancing that was going on in her stomach.

"Nothin" he grumbled as he turned his head back toward the road. For a second Beth thought he was angry, but then she noticed the tips of his ears and his neck red and realized he was embarrassed that she caught him staring. She giggled to herself and turned back around to face outside again. After a few moments she started humming a tone to herself. The hum's slowly changed to her softly singing to herself….

 _ **Mama told me when I was young  
Come sit beside me, my only son  
And listen closely to what I say.**_

"Lyndrd Skynrd huh?" Daryl asked, breaking her of her singing. She felt her cheeks flame up, not even realizing she had been singing out loud like that. It was not something she did often in front of people that were not her family. It made other thoughts start swirling around in her head that she was not ready to deal with at the fact that she felt comfortable enough around Daryl to sing.

"It was my brother Shawn's favorite song. He used to play it on the guitar and I would sing along with him" she said softly, her voice sounding wistful. She saw Daryl throw her another sideways glance, maybe to make sure she was ok, that she wasn't going to break down and start crying again. 'He is probably just worried that you will burst out crying again and he will have to deal with it' she told herself when she let the stray thought that he actually cared about her escape.

"Why don't ya keep singin'" he asked, his ears turning red again as he turned his gaze back to the road. She smiled softly as she looked at him.

"Ya sure, I don't wanna annoy you" she replied, her smile still soft.

"Well it's not like we gotta juke box" he replied back and Beth could see the side of his lips start to turn up in a faint smile.

"Um…ok" she replied as she started to sing again…

 _ **And if you do this  
It will help you some sunny day.  
Take your time... Don't live too fast,  
Troubles will come and they will pass.  
Go find a woman and you'll find love,  
And don't forget son,  
There is someone up above.**_

 _ **And be a simple kind of man.  
Be something you love and understand.  
Baby, be a simple kind of man.  
Oh won't you do this for me son,  
If you can?**_

She could see Daryl softly taping his finger in time to her singing against the steering wheel and quietly mouthing the words of the chorus along with her. It made her smile a little brighter as she continued…

 _ **Forget your lust for the rich man's gold  
All that you need is in your soul,  
And you can do this if you try.  
All that I want for you my son,  
Is to be satisfied.**_

 _ **Boy, don't you worry.  
You'll find yourself.  
Follow your heart,  
And nothing else.  
You can do this,  
If you try.  
All that I want for you my son,  
Is to be satisfied.**_

 _ **Baby, be a simple, be a simple man  
Oh, be something you love and understand  
Baby, be a simple kind of man**_

She stopped singing and let go a soft sigh as she turned to see Daryl watching her again. She could see something different in his eyes as he looked at her. If she wasn't so enthralled by his eyes, she would've told him that he needed to focus more on the road but instead what he said next had her heart crumble just a little.

"That was ma brother's favorite song too" he said softly as he turned his eyes back onto the road. Beth felt her heart break for the strong man beside her.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. I shouldn't have sung that" she started softly as a tear slowly ran down her cheek. She could feel his eyes on her again, but she couldn't look up at him. She refused to let him see her sad when it was his brother and he was holding it together. She didn't look over till she felt the rough callouses of his fingers gently stroke over her hand.

"It's ok Beth, I asked ya to sing it" he said gruffly as he jerked his hand away and looked back out at the road in front of them when she had looked back up at him.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked softly, wiping away the stray tear that had fallen. He didn't answer but he mumbled "mmhmm" so she took a breath and proceeded.

"What happened to Merle?" she asked, her voice a little shaky. She didn't know how he would respond to the question. She knew he would not be violent, that was the farthest thing from her mind, but she didn't know if he would get angry at her questioning, but instead he did the one thing she really didn't expect him to do, he answered her willingly.

"The dumb shit didn't wait. He decided instead of waiting for me to come get 'em, which if he hadn't have been high he would've known I woulda come. But no, instead he decides to use Dale's saw and cut his hand off, right at the wrist" he said with a swift move across his wrist like he is re-enacting what happened. Beth gasp at his words. She had no idea what had happened, nobody had wanted to talk about it after they got back.

"Oh my god!" she breathed out, but then a slow chuckle escaped her lips. He turned his head toward her, his eyes narrowed.

"Ya think ma' brother doin' that is funny, girl?" he asked, his voice in a low growl. She quickly shook her head but the smile still on her lips.

"No, it's just makes sense a little" she replied, his eyes still narrowed at her.

"How does his cuttin' off his damn hand make sense to ya?" he asked, his voice and eyes growing angry.

"Well, he did what he had to do to survive. He was high and probably thought walkers were getting in and that nobody was coming for him, so he did what he had to do to survive. You Dixon's, you always do what you have to do" she replied, the small smile on her lips still. As she spoke, she could see the anger falling out of his eyes, just replaced by sadness.

"He shoulda just waited. And now he's just gone" he replied, his tone still gruff but a hint of sadness to it too. He had no idea why he was talking to this girl like he was. He never told anybody anything and here he was opening up a little to her. He didn't think he liked that.

"Your gunna see him again, I know it" she replied, her voice confident.

"How do ya know?" he asked, the look that he gave her making her heart break all over again for him.

"Because, you said nobody can kill a Dixon but a Dixon and this didn't kill Merle, or you would've found him. So you will see him again" she replied, her smile getting wider as she saw his lips slightly turning into a smile too.

"And you Dixon's are pretty tough" she added as she turned her head back out to look at the scenery more. She could feel his eyes on her and smiled wider as she heard him grunt an agreement.

* * *

I don't own the song or TWD


	7. Chapter 7

" _Because, you said nobody can kill a Dixon but a Dixon and this didn't kill Merle, or you would've found him. So you will see him again"_ _"And you Dixon's are pretty tough"_

Oh why did she say all of that to him? When she did, he felt a tightness form in his stomach. She sounded so sure of herself, so confident that he would see Merle again. And her singing! Her voice sounded like the birds during springtime, when he would sit out in the woods and just listen. Her voice filled him with a peace, just like those birds used to do. It was a peace he had not felt for a while. And the fact that she had defended him, defended Merle, nobody had ever done that for him before. This girl sitting beside of him, in her faded jeans and worn cowboy boots, was doing things to him that he had never experienced before, and he was not sure how to handle it.

He could hear Merle's voice in the back of his head telling him to _"bang 'er already Baby Brother. I bet she is as juicy as a peach"_ and he didn't doubt she would be, but Beth was better than that. He could tell that the first time he ever saw her, even before Merle started remarking on her resemblance to their Momma's angel. This girl deserved respect, to be treated with affection! Not some redneck asshole pawing all over her like an animal in heat. And even if he did think he had a shot with her, which he knew he didn't, he would have no idea how to even go about it. He had never had a real relationship before and all of the hook-ups he ever had were pushed on him by Merle, or from sitting in some backwoods bar drunk off of his ass.

He would have no idea how to even bring something like that up, and it's not like the end of the world were the dead are coming back wanting to literally rip your ass apart was the time to think of things like this. He needed to keep them safe! But dammit, when did _he_ become _them_?

"Oh my god Daryl, look at that!" she exclaimed, her voice hitching, as he broke from his thoughts and looked ahead of them. Atlanta lay in ruins as they started to drive in. He realized that this must have been the first time she was back since she ran in the beginning. No matter how many times he came back, it still struck him too.

"They bombed everything" she mumbled as she wiped a stray tear off of her cheek.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not gunna let anythin' happen to ya" he said firmly as he gripped her hand and squeezed it. "Where in the hell did all of that come from?" he thought to himself but he didn't have a real chance to second guess what he did as she squeezed his hand back, intertwined their fingers and gave him a faint smile, then turned her head back toward the windows, still taking in all the carnage in front of her. He watched her for another moment, wanting to see something beautiful, probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen before he turned back around to look at the wreckage himself.

"You stay here" he growled out as they stopped a little ways away from the CDC building. He walked up to Rick, Shane and Glenn who were standing a good way away from the barrier that he assumed the govt put up. He could see a few walkers coming toward them, but nothing they could not handle.

"So what's the plan?" Daryl asked, throwing a glance back over toward Beth, who was watching them intently.

"Guess we just go up and ring the front door bell" Shane said as he grabbed his bag out of his jeep. Rick nodded in agreement and then they all turned to grab their stuff.

"All of us are going in, so stay right beside me ok?" He told her as she started to roll up his window and he grabbed their bags out of the back seat. He adjusted his crossbow on his back and opened the car door for her, making him the receiver of one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen.

"Chivalry isn't dead, even in the apocalypse" she said sweetly, her eyes gleaming

"Yeah yeah, 'ere" he mumbled out as he thrusted her bag toward her. She took it as she chuckled at him. He could feel the tips of his ears going red as he motioned for them to get going. "member, stay beside me" he whispered as they walked up to the front of the CDC, his crossbow loaded and ready. He looked down and smiled slightly when he saw Beth had the gun he had given her in her hand.

"COME ON! LET US IN!" Rick screamed at the door as he banged and banged, with no use. Daryl turned around, watching all of the walkers start to notice them.

"Rick, we gotta go man! This is a lost cause. How bout Fort Benning?" Shane said as he tried to pull Rick away from the door.

"That's 60 miles in the other direction, we barely had enough gas to get here" Lori stated.

"How 'bout my Daddy's farm?" Beth spoke up, causing Daryl to turn and look at her. So she was going to give this one last ditch effort. He knew she liked most of the people, and wanted what was best for them and she thought the farm was it.

"We are not going to your farm, Beth!" Shane growled out, turning his attention back to Rick. Daryl saw Rick glance at Beth one more time as her face fell slightly, like he was taking in what she had said, and then he went and banged on the door again.

"YOU'RE KILLING US" he yelled as Shane started to pull him away. "Wait! Wait, the camera moved! Hey please, please let us in" Rick begged as Daryl started pacing behind them, watching the ever growing amount of walkers.

"Hey, we gotta either get in or get goin' cuz they are comin'" Daryl exclaimed as he locked eyes with Beth. Her nod at his silent question was enough to know she was ready to go. If they were not going to follow to the farm, that was on them. Just as she got up beside of him again, the doors of the CDC opened in a glow of bright light.

"I'm Dr. Jenner" the blond haired man said as they entered and he slid the doors back on the opening. It made Daryl feel trapped, and when they found out they were going underground, he tried to brush off the enclosed feeling. He heard Carol mention something about it too and felt a little better it wasn't just him.

"It was nice of ya to offer the farm again" he whispered out to her. She smiled slightly at him and then sighed with a shake of her head.

"I don't know what Shane has against it." She said sadly as she watched the Dr lead them down a long pathway.

"I don't think he is against it. He just has somethin' up his ass about Fort Benning" Daryl said, causing Beth to let out a chuckle that sent warmth thru him. He will have to find a way to get her to do that more often.

"Don't turn on the video games, and if you take a shower don't overuse the hot water" Dr. Jenner said from the front of the group.

"Hot water?" Beth breathlessly said as she looked up at him. He nodded in reply, secretly ecstatic about the shower. Normally being dirty didn't bother him, but for some reason he wanted to be clean right now.

Jenner had showed everybody to their rooms, till it was just Beth and Daryl left.

"This is the last room we have, but it's got two beds. Is that ok?" Jenner asked them. Beth looked at Daryl, and he just looked back at her. This was going to be her decision; he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. She watched him for a moment, and then turned to Jenner with a sweet smile, that caused him to smile back at her.

"Its fine, thank you so much for your hospitality" she said sweetly, her southern charm shining thru.

"Nothing to thank me for" he mumbled as he turned and walked away. Daryl watched him go as Beth walked into the room and sat her back down beside one of the beds. There was something about this _Doctor_ that rubbed Daryl the wrong way. But his thoughts were broke when he felt Beth touch his arm and say she was going to go find the showers. From that moment on, his thoughts were filled with Beth being in the shower. Even when his shower consisted of hearing Rick and Lori going at it in the next shower over, his thoughts stayed on Beth.

And he thought they might be permanently stuck on her when he walked back into their room to find her sitting on one of the cots, legs crossed under her, brushing that beautiful hair of hers. It was falling into loose, wet curls down her shoulders and back. And the shirt (if you could call it that for as tight and thin as it was) that she had on sent his blood rushing to his lower half. All of that mixed with the smell of vanilla that hit him when he walked in and the beautiful smile she flashed him was enough to make him second guess everything he ever thought in life.

"Wasn't that amazin?" She asked with that same smile on her face. His brain could not function enough to speak, he wasn't sure it ever would again so he just mumbled out a "mmhmm" to her question as he sat his stuff down on the other cot. He smiled just a little when he saw that she had placed the crossbow right in the middle of the bed, like it was prized. He took a minute to compose himself, before he turned back around to her to speak, but he didn't get a chance as she jumped up off of the bed and headed for the door.

"Come on Daryl, drop your stuff off! Jenner said he is willing to share his food. Let's go get something to eat" she said sweetly, her smile bright. And he just nodded in reply and followed her out, because how could he deny the promise of food and to be in the presence of Beth Greene?


	8. Chapter 8

_**WOOHOO! Tom Brady is allowed to play! My happy dance has been continuous today :-) Hope you all enjoy this one! Thank you so much to everybody that has reviewed and favored!**_

* * *

Beth smiled softly as she looked around at the group all around the table. They were laughing and eating and some of them were drinking. She felt a few moments peace as she took a drink of her soda that Dr. Jenner had offered her, and then her thoughts went back to the people that they had lost, to leaving Jim on the side of the road. He had hugged her, and told her he was sorry for how he had acted with her the night before. She told him that it was ok, and then kissed his cheek, because what more could she do. She remembered turning and seeing Daryl standing a little bit away, his eyes locked on hers. She had smiled a little at him and then walked toward the truck, gently touching his arm as she did. A few moments later they were all on the road again and one group member less. Just as her thoughts went to her family and how they were, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Daryl's booming voice.

"Keep drinking Glenn! I wanna see how red yer face can get" Daryl joked as he clapped Glenn on his back, the other man swaying already and had not even finished his first glass. Beth laughed a little, and when she caught Daryl's eye, her smile widened just a little bit more. He was having fun, well as much fun as he would allow himself with also keeping watch on everything. She noticed that he did that a lot, just watched everything, everybody. She found herself wondering again what it was that he saw when he watched her.

"Can I try some?" Carl asked as he pointed toward Lori and Rick's glasses of wine in front of them. Rick, already looking a little toasty, just shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh what could it hurt?" Dale said from the end of the table, a sweet smile on his face. Lori sighed and nodded, pouring a little in his glass. Beth let out a laugh at the face he made when he tasted it, remembering her face probably looked the same when Maggie had let her try a taste too. But they always had to be more secretive. There would have been no way that Hershel Greene would have been ok with any of his children drinking, let alone finding out that his youngest had been given her first taste by his oldest. She felt her smile fading at the thought of Maggie and her dad so she took a drink of her soda and turned to face Glenn, who had a huge smile on his face.

"Beth, you having fun?" He slurred out. She smiled back at him and nodded her head.

"There are two of you. So much blond" he slurred again, this time causing her to laugh out loud at him.

"Don't worry Glenn, it's just the wine. There's not two of me" she said as she patted his hand

"Can only handle the one of ya anyway" Daryl said as he walked up beside of her and sat down. She narrowed her eyes at him, but her smile betrayed her as his smirk got to her. He then leaned over, so close to her that she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Yer too pretty for there to be two of ya. Wouldn't be fair to everybody else" he growled out, his tone so deep that it sent a shiver all thru her. Did he really just say that to her? He had to be drunk, because he would never have said anything like that normally. She pulled back to look at him, but before she could say anything in reply, Shane interrupted.

"So Doc, what happened here?" He asked, his tone commanding and arrogant.

"You certainly know how to kill a mood" Glenn slurred out, taking another drink

"Naw, this was the whole point of coming here right? To find out what happened? To see if there is a cure? Isn't that why we came here instead of Fort Benning, Rick?" He growled out, his eyes narrowed at Rick. Daryl instantly tensed beside of Beth and she silently cursed Shane for ruining his good mood and everybody else's.

"Come with me and I will show you" Jenner said, standing from his seat.

* * *

"So this patient was bit, and she volunteered for us to study her in her finale moments" Jenner stated as he walked up to all the computers in the main room.

"Vie, bring up subject 13" he called out, instantly a picture of a human lying down was up on the screen.

"This was an hour after she was bit. As you can see everything in her brain is still functioning" he said as he motioned toward the picture.

"What's all tha?" Daryl asked as he pointed toward the brain and all the little shocks that appeared to be going thru it.

"That's her brain waves" Beth breathed out as she watched the screen in front of her in wonder. She was planning on going to school to become a nurse, so all of this fascinated her.

"You're absolutely correct Beth! Those little flashes, those shocks! They are what make you, you. They are your memories, your emotions, and your thoughts. This subjects brain was a work of art" he stated as he looked back at the monitor. Beth turned a little to see that Daryl's eyes were on her, a look going through them that she had never seen before. She felt her cheeks light up from his stare and turned back around to the screen.

"Vie, jump to 2 hours after initial injury" Jenner called out, the screen transforming to later on. They could see the subject's last breaths and her body slumping on the table, her brain waves diminishing till there was nothing but blackness.

"She died, didn't she?" Beth asked as she walked up to stand beside of Daryl as they watched the screen.

"Yeah, now there is nothing left where before there was so much" Lori stated sadly as she gripped Rick's hand.

"We don't know what causes it. We don't know what started it, or how to stop it. We were on the verge when everything started going to hell outside and people in here started panicking, taking other ways out" he mumbled as he glanced toward Rick and then Shane, everybody understanding what he meant.

"So you don't know either what this is?" Shane asked, his voice hard but you could hear the hint of sadness as well.

"It could be a number of things" he started. "Vie, go to end event please" he stated and then turned his head away from the screen as it changed.

"Look at that" Beth said as she watched the first sparks start to come back into the brain. "It starts the brain stem back?" she asked, her voice filled with emotion.

"It does, but as you can see, everything that made you, you, is gone. There is no life there anymore. You are just a shell. You are just a body, none of your memories, none of your emotions. They don't survive. It just starts your brain stem enough to get you moving, but nothing else. " he said sadly

"What was that?" Lori asked as they saw a streak go through the head of the subject.

"You killed her didn't you?" Andrea asked, the first time she had spoken in a while.

"She asked me too. She was the one! She could have saved us all. She was the genius here! I was just a flacky. It should have been me on that table and she would have been able to solve this. Vie, shut it down" he growled out as he started to walk away.

"You loved her didn't you?" Andrea asked, her voice sad.

"I did. I'm sorry but there is no cure" he whispered out as he turned and walked toward the hallway, leaving all of them standing around stunned.

* * *

Beth entered their room a little later. After Jenner's big reveal, Daryl had taken off with a bottle of wine and she had not seen him since. As she slowly opened the door, she saw him, sprawled out on his bed face down, the wine bottle empty on the floor, all of his clothes still on. She smiled just a little and shook her head at the site of him. She slowly shut the door and placed her cup of soda on the table beside her cot then turned and started to slowly untie Daryl's shoes. She wanted to try to make him a little more comfortable. After she was done, she looked back up at his face. He looked so peaceful, so calm at that moment. She wished she had a camera to capture it. She gently moved a piece of his hair from his face and leaned down, kissing his cheek softly.

"Thank you" she whispered as she pulled herself away. She wasn't sure what exact thing she was thanking him for, but in just the few short days that she had actually been talking to him, he had done more for her than anybody.

"Beth" he breathed out as he rolled over onto his side. She froze for just a moment to see if he was awake but when he lightly snored again, she felt the blush rise to her face. He had whispered her name while he was sleeping.

'It doesn't mean anything Beth.' She told herself, but even with her own thoughts she could not stop the smile that fell on her face. Even with the events of the night, she was able to fall asleep knowing that he was near her.

* * *

 _ **I know some of you wanted Beth and Daryl to just go to the farm and not go to the CDC but I felt Beth had to come here, to see for herself about the walkers before they get to the farm and she finds out about the barn. Just FYI, I am not going to have Beth attempt suicide in this story. She is stronger and more informed...and has Daryl :-) And don't worry...they will have more alone time**_


	9. Chapter 9

**_So this chapter consists of only Daryl, his dream and his thoughts after...hope you like it_**

* * *

 _Daryl looked around at the field in front of him. It was filled with tons of beautiful yellow flowers that were swaying in the gentle breeze that was blowing around him. He heard a giggle as a streak of blond hair came dancing around him and the air filled with the scent of vanilla and a soft giggle that he could not help to smile at._

" _Come on Daryl" she said as she turned around and smiled as she extended her hand. He looked down at it, and then back up to her, locking on her eyes. They were as blue as the sky that hung above them._

" _Beth" he breathed out as he watched her turn and run through the flowers, spinning and giggling. The beautiful sound of her laughing filled his ears as he watched her. He had this nagging feeling that he should be worried about something, be on the lookout for something but as she spun around and danced, her voice filling the air, he just could not look away from her. She really was beautiful. He had never seen anything more beautiful than her. He watched her spin and turn, laugh and sing and knew, knew in his heart that he was supposed to protect her, make sure she always had this joy in her heart._

" _Come on Daryl" she called to him as she spun around. He could not figure out why she wanted him around. Why she felt like she had to stick up for him, and stick around him. Usually girls like her would not want to be anywhere around him. But if he was being honest to himself, he never knew another girl like her before._

" _Daryl, come dance with me" she called as he looked down to pick the beautiful yellow flower that was by his feet. When he lifted his head back up, his eyes widened with fear._

" _Beth, lookout" he cried out as a walker came up behind her. She screamed as she collapsed under the weight of the walker. He grabbed behind him to get his crossbow, but found nothing. So he took off toward her, moving faster than he ever thought he had before, but the spot where she fell seemed to just keep getting farther and farther away as her screams got louder and louder._

" _Hold on Beth, I'm coming" he yelled out, his heart beating rapidly in his chest, feeling like it would explode. When he finally got to the spot where she fell, he looked down at the ground stunned. She was not there, there was no blood, no body, nothing._

" _DARYL! HELP!" He heard her scream out. He whipped his head around, just in time to see her being pulled into the woods by an unknown arm around her waist. He took off after her, hitting the tree line in record time._

" _Yer never gunna catch 'er little brother. You let her get taken" Merle appeared beside him, grinning like the asshole he was. Daryl ignored him and kept running toward the sound of her voice, toward the streaks of blond he could make out in the woods ahead of him._

" _You failed her, like you failed me" Merle cackled beside him_

" _You failed yourself, you dumb shit" Daryl growled back, his lungs burning from running._

" _Ya really think that little angel is going to want to keep ya around when ya get 'er home to 'er Daddy? Yer just a free ride to 'er" he laughed from beside of Daryl. "Yer not good enough for 'er" Daryl ignored him and kept running, leaving behind Merle and his words. He needed to get to Beth, save her from whatever took her. He kept running until he ended up in another field. In front of him was Beth, laying on the ground._

" _Beth" he breathed out as he ran over to her, sliding across the grass to get to her. As he knelt down beside her, he gently ran his hand on her cheek. At the touch of his hand, her eyes started to flutter open. As her crystal blue eyes landed on his, a small smile graced her lips._

" _You found me" she whispered out "I knew you would. You will always find me"_

Daryl jolted awake from his dream, sweat glistening on his skin. He tried to calm his breathing as he looked over at the bed beside of him. There was Beth, alive and save. Her blond hair was spread all across her back as she slept on her stomach. Every few moments she would let out a soft snore. Daryl's breathing calmed watching and listening to her.

He thought back to his dream, the last few seconds of his dream to be precise. If he was honest with himself, he knew that his subconscious was right. He knew that he would always find her if she needed him too. He would do anything he could to keep her laughing and smiling, keep that angel essence about her. He doubted that she would want somebody like him to have that job, but as soon as she accepted his ride home, as soon as she stood up for all guys named Dixon, he took the job willingly. He would do whatever he could to make sure she made it to the farm safely, with all of her fire and sweetness still intact. If she wanted him to stay then he would stay. But if she told him that she wanted him to leave, then he would do that too. He wouldn't want too, she really was the only person he had left, but he would.

Damn that really was sad that the little blond beside him that he really had only known for a few days, that couldn't weigh more than 100lbs soaking wet was the only person he really had left. He had never had a friend before. Merle was his brother, and a shitty one at that, and most of the people he knew was through him and were just as shitty as Merle. He had never had somebody stick up for him like the little spitfire sleeping in the cot next to him had. And she certainly wasn't like any of the girls he had ever known before. The only things they had the same was their lady parts, and something inside of Daryl told him that Beth's were probably one million times nicer than any of the other ladies he had known before.

"Dammit, stop thinkin' bout 'er lady parts" Daryl scolded himself as a rush of heat went through him. She was just now becoming his friend, and he didn't want to mess that up by even assuming that she wanted anything more. He might have never met a girl like Beth before, but he knew that most girls didn't want a dirty, redneck asshole hitting on them. Hell, it's the damn apocalypse, who has time for the mess that would make anyway.

He sighed as he finally turned his head away from Beth and looked at the ceiling, folding his hands behind his head. She earned his loyalty the moment she defended him to their group. He would stick by her until the day came that she didn't want him too.

He closed his eyes at that thought and let the sound of her soft snores lull him back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_**It's the showdown at the CDC...hope you all like it :-)**_

* * *

Beth looked around at all of them the next morning in the main room of the CDC. They were all trying to figure out what to do next, how to proceed. She looked over to Daryl, his expression stone on his face as he listened to them all. He had been quiet all morning, not exactly rude, but more like he was thinking really hard about something. She turned away from him and caught Shane and Rick talking, the scratch marks on Shane's neck an angry red. When they had all gotten up that morning, he said he must have done it in his sleep, but Beth could see the way that Lori reacted when Shane came in, and when he spoke. She caught Daryl's eye at that moment and knew he knew Shane was lying too. But that really was not her worry right now, because it looked like Lori handled business as far as Shane was concerned. Now, she was worried about the half crazy look in Jenner's eyes.

"Doc, what does that clock on the wall mean? It seems to be counting down" Dale asked, causing Beth to look over at the wall where he was pointing. Dr. Jenner just looks at the older man then turns away.

"Shut it all down Vie" he calls out, and in an instant the power shuts off on the computers and the lights go down to emergency power. There is now fear coursing through Beth as she turns to Daryl, her eyes wide. He looks at her and then heads over to beside of Rick, who is pushing Carl gently to Lori and turning to the doctor. You could see on his face that he knew something was wrong.

"What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick asked, his voice calm and calculated. Jenner ignored him and kept messing with the one computer in front of him that was still lit up.

"What happens in 28 minutes?" he asked again, this time with more authority as he hit the doctors chair.

"Do you know what this place is? We protected the public from some very nasty stuff! Weaponized small pox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out, EVER!" Jenner stated firmly as he turned his attention away from Rick again. "When it counts down it sets off H.I.T.s"

"H.I.T.'s?" Rick asked, his confusion and irritation evident.

"Vie, define" Jenner commanded

"H.I.T.s - high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired." Vie stated

"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything" Jenner said, Beth gasping as she heard it. She could not die in this place, not like that. She felt Daryl come up beside her, the anger radiating off of him.

"We aint dyin' in 'ere. Don't worry Beth" he growled out as he narrowed his eyes back at Jenner.

"Get your stuff, go now!" Rick called out to everybody. Beth turning and nodding to Daryl before she took off toward the door, following T-Dog and Lori. Just as they hit the ramp to go to the rooms, the door slid shut in front of them.

"Open that damn door" Daryl growled as he saw Beth jump back from the closed door, the panic in her eyes caused a fire to erupt in him.

"I can't. I told you when you came in that the doors will remain shut. I can't open them" Jenner stated firmly as Lori and Carol started crying, both of them holding their kids close to them.

"Open the god damn door!" Shane screamed as he tried rushing the doctor, Rick holding him back. Beth jumped when she heard something hit the door behind her, turning to see T-Dog and Glenn hitting it with different tools they had found. Daryl took off toward them, throwing her a knowing glance that told her that he would get them out of there.

"That door is made to withstand a rocket launcher" Jenner called out from his seat

"Well your head aint" Daryl growled out as he hit the door with an axe that T-Dog had handed to him.

"Please, you have to give us a chance" Lori cried as she held Carl.

"It will be quick. It's better than being out there" Jenner said softly.

"No, it's not. This is giving up! I would rather be out there and take my chance then be in here and have my choices taken away from me" Beth stated, a sob escaping her voice.

"The world out there is no place for all of you. It belongs to the dead now" he countered. Beth felt the rage grow inside of her. Before she knew what she was doing, she was throwing herself toward him. She got in one good blow on his cheek before she felt arms pulling her off.

"Let me go! I'm not dying in here because of him" she screamed out as she thrashed, but the arms around her just held her tighter.

"I got this Beth" Daryl whispered in her ear, immediately she calmed down and let out a sigh as he let go of her.

"You crazy…." Jenner started, but didn't get to finish his sentence because Daryl was on him, punching him harder than Beth did.

"Open the fucking door you asshole" Daryl growled out before he was pulled off by Shane and Rick.

"You have to give us a chance. You have too! We have hope" Rick pleaded as Beth watched the time count down.

"There is no hope! There never was" Jenner stated

"What part of everything is gone, don't you understand?" Andrea asked angrily. Beth turned to glare at her.

"Listen to your friend, she gets it. This is what makes us turn. This is our extinction event" Jenner said as he sat back down and rubbed his face. The bruises from Beth and Daryl's punches already showing, which did cause Beth a split second of happiness.

"This isn't right, you can't keep us here" Carol spoke up, still clutching onto her daughter Sophia. "My daughter doesn't deserve to die"

"We need to try! We have too" Rick stated, his voice waivering as he looked at Lori and Carl. Jenner sighed and turned back to Rick.

"I can't open the upstairs doors, like I told you before, they are locked for good" Jenner said as the sound of the doors to the room opening filled the room.

"Thank you" Rick cried out as he turned back to Lori and Carl.

"You won't thank me later" Jenner said sadly

"Come on Beth" Daryl growled out as he ran toward the now open door, but Beth stood there frozen, watching Jenner whisper something into Rick's ear. She saw the look of horror on Rick's face. She then saw Andrea and Jacqui sit down with Jenner.

"What are you two doing" She cried as she ran over to them.

"Go Beth, get out of here. This is my choice" Andrea said sadly. Beth grabbed her hand, her eyes pleading.

"No, you can't do this. Neither of you can" she continued to cry. She could hear Daryl's screaming her name but she couldn't leave them to do this. It was stupid. She felt a hand touch her arm and turned to see Dale there. He nodded at her in understanding and before she had a chance to do anything else, she felt herself being picked up and thrown over a well formed shoulder.

"Damn, you want to get yourself killed in 'ere, come the fuck on" he growled out as he rushed her out of the room and up the stairs. As soon as they got to the upper part, they heard Shane scream get down, so they dropped down to the stairs and Daryl covered her body with his. The explosion shook her to the bone and it took her a second to get her legs back before they both were running toward the opened window. The sound of the explosion also brought a few stray walkers toward them. Daryl took one out with just a swing of his bow and Rick got the other one with his gun. Once they all reached their vehicles, Beth turned back around to watch the window. Dale, Andrea and Jacqui had not come out yet.

"Come on, come on" she breathed softly, letting out a breath when she saw Dale and Andrea climb out the window. Just as she was going to feel the pain of Jacqui not coming, she heard Rick and Lori screaming to get down. Daryl grabbed her and flung her, not to gently, into the floorboard of the truck. He then placed himself around her, like a protective barrier. She held her breath and grabbed his hand, squeezing it when they heard the explosion rip through the air. After a few seconds, Daryl eased off of her and sat up, pulling her up with him. He never once let go of her hand and they watched what used to be the CDC burn in a huge ball of fire. Once they saw Andrea and Dale enter the RV, they breathed a sigh of relief. Daryl squeezed her hand one more time and then let go to start the truck, and proceeded to follow the group away from what could have been certain death.

"Where do you think we are going?" Beth breathed out after a few moments.

"Rick's gunna wanna regroup, figure out what ta do next. We're not stayin' wit' 'em. We will regroup but then we're leavin' and goin' to the farm" he stated, his voice full of determination. Beth just looked at him and smiled, placing her hand on his arm. He looked back over at her, the look he was giving her at the moment sent shivers through her entire body. She just smiled sweetly at him again as he turned his attention back to the cars in front of them. She didn't want to think about what had just happened, how close she came to death, how close Daryl did. They were ok for the moment and will be heading to the farm soon, so she focused on that. She focused on the strong, brave, powerful, shy redneck beside of her in the truck. He was something good to focus on.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Ok, now I'm going to go off the grid a little now since Beth and Daryl are diverting from the story. If you are curious about the rest of the group, they do the same thing they did after the CDC. Of course this won't be the last time we see them :-)**_

* * *

"Beth and I are heading to her Daddy's farm. I'm takin' 'er home" Daryl stated, causing the small group that was standing in a circle to raise their eyebrows at him. They had pulled off into an abandoned parking lot that looked safe enough for the time being, and the group was trying to decide the next course of action. Well, Shane was trying to dictate while the rest of them were deciding. When Rick had asked him, Glenn, T-Dog to follow him over to the side of the parking lot, Daryl knew he was going to have to just tell them their plans. Like hell any of them were going to be able to stop them from going anyway. A part of him was hoping they would, cuz after the CDC he was itching for a fight.

"Is this the same farm she mentioned before?" Rick asked, eyeing the archer.

"Yeah, the girl has wanted to go home for a while now, but Asshat over there would just keep telling her that they had other things to do" he said as he motioned toward Shane, who was talking to Carl and an uneasy looking Lori.

"How does she even know her people are still alive?" T-Dog asked softly, like he was afraid that Beth would hear him, throwing a glance at the pretty blond who was chatting away with Carol and Sophia. Daryl turned to glance at her too, seeing the beautiful smile on her face. She had not stopped smiling since he told her that they were going to the farm. Yeah, he was going to keep that smile there. 'God your such a pussy' he thought as he turned his attention back to the small group.

"She doesn't, but goin' is better than stayin' and not knowin'" he continued with a shake of his head. He saw the other guys nod their heads, all seeming to understand.

"Well, if you get there and it's all gone, come toward Fort Benning. You can meet back up with us" Rick said as he extended his hand toward Daryl. Daryl looked down at it, eyeing it cautiously for a moment and then gripping it and shaking it back. Then with a silent nod to the guys, he turned and walked over to the still smiling Beth. He felt the tips of his lips lifting up at the sight of her and forced his lips back into a firm line. He doesn't smile, especially not just because of the sight of just some girl smiling. 'who you foolin' baby brother…..Angel isn't just some girl' his brother's voice taunted.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked, her eyes going wide at his question.

"So soon?" she asked as she stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Thought you wanted to go?" he asked her, the question coming out rougher than he intended.

"Oh no of course I want to go" she exclaimed excitedly. "I guess maybe I was just thinking there would be more arguing, or people trying to stop us…..I don't know, something" she continued as she turned to pick up her pack off of the ground. When she turned back around, Daryl's breath hitched at the sight of her eyes. They were sparkling the most beautiful blue he had ever seen. God, she really was a gorgeous girl, especially when she was happy. 'Snap out of it Dixon. She is just a girl' he told himself as he looked down at her smiling face.

"Guess they 're just ready to get rid of us. Or at least me" he grumbled out as they both turned toward the truck, the motorcycle still securely on the back.

"Well their loss is my gain" she said sweetly as she placed her arm on his bicep and squeezed, releasing him before he could tense up, but long enough for him to miss the feel of her fingers when she let go. She smiled back at him as she placed her bag in the bed of the truck and went over to let the others know she was leaving.

* * *

Daryl watched her as she hugged each one of the group, telling them that she hoped they made it and that she would be praying for them. He couldn't help but snort at that, what has praying gotten anybody lately. 'JC has permanently left the building' he thought to himself as she hugged Lori tight. He heard Lori softly ask her if she was sure that she was safe going with Daryl, causing him to roll his eyes. He pulled Beth's ass out of the CDC and Olive Oil still didn't think he was good enough. But his lips quirked up just a little when Beth replied to her that she was very sure and knew that she could trust Daryl with her life, that he had already proved a few times that he was loyal. Those words knocked him in his chest. How did she get that just from a few days of knowing him. This girl had to be crazy, trusting a Dixon that fast. He knew that she was right and that he would protect her with his life, but she was insane for believing it already.

He felt himself stiffen up just a little when she hugged Shane. He could tell that she really didn't want to hug him, that she was just doing it out of the politeness and manners that she was raised with, but he still didn't like Shane's hands on her. A fire started to boil in him that he didn't understand but before he could even start to really think about it, she let Shane go and moved onto Rick. She handed him a piece of paper, which he looked down at and a small smile crossed his lips. He looked at her and nodded and Beth hugged him quickly. She then turned to T-Dog and Glenn, who were standing side by side.

"I just wanted to thank you both. You both saved my life that day. I will be forever grateful that you two gave me a second chance. You both are amazing men" she said, a tear trickling down her cheek as she hugged both of them, both guys snaking their arms around her too, sandwiching her in.

"You be safe, Beth. And take care of Dixon. Keep him out of trouble" Glenn said with a smile as he looked over at Daryl, a big smile on his face.

"Fat chance" Daryl growled out, but threw a smirk at Glenn as well. After a few more hugs, a few more tears (from Beth, not from him of course) they were in the truck and she waved at them all as he pulled out of the parking spot. He nodded his head toward Rick and Glenn and they nodded back and then they were gone.

* * *

Beth didn't say anything for a while, just sat there looking out the window. Daryl kept throwing her glances from the side of his eyes. Normally he was ok with the quiet, craved it really. But he missed Beth's voice, her chattering and her smile.

"Why don't you sing somethin'?" he asked her before he could stop himself. He felt the tips of his ears turn red when she turned to look at him, the smile starting to come back on her lips.

"Sure, any requests?" she asked sweetly as she squeezed his bicep. He came to realize that he really liked when she did that, but shook that thought off.

"Know any Ozzy?" he asked her, thinking that she probably wouldn't. When would an angel like Beth Greene listen to Ozzy Osbourne? But once again, the little spitfire blond that was worming her way into his head surprised him.

 _Times have changed and times are strange  
Here I come, but I ain't the same_

 _Mama, I'm coming home  
_

He noticed her expression when she sang, like she really was telling her Mama that she was coming home. He really hoped that all of her people were still alive for her.

 _Times gone by, seems to be  
You could have been a better friend to me_

 _Mama, I'm coming home_

 _You took me in and you drove me out  
Yeah, you had me hypnotized  
Lost and found and turned around  
By the fire in your eyes_

 _You made me cry, you told me lies_  
 _But, I can't stand to say goodbye_

 _Mama, I'm coming home_

 _I could be right, I could be wrong_  
 _It hurts so bad, it's been so long_

 _Mama, I'm coming home_

 _Selfish love, yeah, we're both alone  
The ride before the fall, yeah.  
But I'm gonna take this heart of stone  
I just got to have it all._

 _I've seen your face a hundred times,_  
 _Everyday we've been apart_  
 _I don't care about the sunshine, yeah_  
 _'cause mama,_

 _Mama, I'm coming home_  
 _I'm coming home_

 _You took me in and you drove me out  
Yeah, you had the hypnotised, yeah.  
Lost and found and turned around  
By the fire in your eyes_

 _I've seen your face a thousand times_  
 _Everyday we've been apart_  
 _And I don't care about the sunshine, yeah_  
 _'cause mama,_

 _Mama, I'm coming home_  
 _I'm coming home_

She smiled sweetly at him as she finished the song, and try as he might, he could not help the small smile that creeped across his lips too. At the sight of it, her smile got wider and he realized that he didn't actually mind smiling if it made her smile like that. Then she asked him the question that floored him…

"You want me to sing you some Alice Cooper or Judas Priest next?"

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 _ **Mama I'm Coming Home - Ozzy Osbourne**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**I am so very sorry for the delay in getting this to you. I have really no excuse except that life has gotten away from me and I seemed to have gotten addicted to Hermione fics that include either Draco, Severus or Theo...there I said it, I have a problem. Ok, onto the story. I hope you love it as much as I do because I adore this chapter if I do say so myself.**_

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Daryl watched Beth as she stared out the passenger side window. She had gotten quiet after they actually got out of the city and got closer to the farm. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but he didn't like the small frown that had graced her lips. He had to find something that would put the smile back 'You are such a pussy Baby Brother! 'Merle's voice taunted him in his mind. He shook his head, clearing his brother's voice , turning back to the road as he spoke.

"Tell me 'bout yer family" he growled out, rougher than he intended since he hadn't spoke for a little while. He saw her blond hair whip around at him and turned to see the smile he had been missing start to form on her lips. 'There, that's better' he thought as he heard Merle laugh and say 'Pussy'

"What do ya want to know?" She asked, her smile still small but he could see the mixture of excitement and worry in her eyes, which he understood totally. Neither one of them knew what they were driving into. What, if anything was left of the farm. It was nerve racking for him, so he could just imagine what she felt like, it was her family after all.

"Tell me 'bout 'em. So I know what I'm headin' inta" he said as he threw a small smirk her way with a small twist of his head toward her. He was instantly rewarded with a brighter smile.

"Well there is my Daddy, Hershel. He was the town vet before everything went down. He was strict on us growing up….."

"What do ya mean strick?" Daryl interrupted, a growl coming from his voice that even surprised him. He didn't even want to think the angel in the seat beside of him had an upbringing like his. His back tingled at the very idea.

"Oh, nothing really bad" she said sweetly, patting Daryl's bicep as she continued. "We had to help around the farm, chores and stuff. Room's had to stay clean, had to go to church every Sunday, couldn't wear make-up, couldn't date till you were 16, but of course that only applied to Maggie and me. Seemed that Shawn had it a little differently, cuz he was the boy" she said with a smile.

"Daddy's do tend to treat their daughters differently than sons…..cuz they know what it was like bein' a boy and what they all want at that age" Daryl grumbled out, causing Beth to chuckle a little.

"That's what he used to say when Maggie would complain about it." She giggled again.

"Maggie's yer older sister right?" he asked, turning to look at her again.

"Yeah, she is. My Daddy had been married before he met my Momma and had Maggie. She is a force of nature, all beautiful and spirited. She never backs down from anything. I used to wish I could be just like her" she said with a sigh.

"Why's that?" He asked, genuinely confused because from where he sat, the girl beside of him was all of those things too.

"She had tons of friends, wasn't shy. Totally beautiful, tall with brown hair and beautiful eyes. She could just talk to anybody, not like me who gets quiet when in a big group and is totally shy" she said, her eyes downcast just a little. He didn't like that the frown was starting to come back, so he had to think fast.

"Not from where I am sittin" he said with a little bit of a chuckle as he pushed her arm. "you certainly weren't shy when you went after Rick and Shane defendin' me. Seemed pretty spirited to me. A little spitfire"

The smile she gave him after his comments caused his heart to thud a little harder. She really was beautiful and he loved that smile. 'Pull yerself together dumbass! She's just a girl'

"Yeah, well….I don't like it when my friends are attacked for no reason" she said with a giggle.

"Friend huh?" he asked, his tone going a little deeper. He really was not sure what this girl was doing to him.

"Yeah, you're my friend Daryl!" she replied, but after moment her smile fell just a little "Don't you see us as friends?"

His breath caught for just a moment. He knew he considered her something. He liked talking to her, having her around. He didn't want anything to happen to her and he made a vow to get her home and keep that smile on her face. Was that a friend? He had never really had one before, so he was not sure. But if it was, then he guessed she was one.

"Yeah, were friends" he grumbled out, causing her smile to go bright again. 'Good job Dixon' he thought to himself. "So keep tellin' me 'bout yer family?"

"Well Shawn, he is my older brother. He is in between me and Maggie. He was my Momma's son from her first marriage. My Daddy adopted him right after they were married. He is a jokester, loves playing pranks. He once died my hair blue during the night. My Momma cried all morning. I loved it myself and was sad that it washed out. He was grounded for a month for that one." She said, another giggle escaping her lips as she remembered the memory.

"And you're Momma?" he asked, pulling her out of the memory

"My Momma's name is Annette. She met my Daddy after her husband passed away. She is 20 years younger than him, and people told her that it would never work, but she knew she loved him and that nothing is more powerful than love. Not an age gap, not different upbringing's, nothing is stronger than the love that one person has for the other. She has told me that a few times over the years and I see how Momma and Daddy are together and I totally believe it. Daddy's father was a horrible, hateful man and used to hurt him and his mom" Daryl felt a chill go thru his body at the very real visual that Beth painted. "He hated my Grandfather so much that he left the farm when was 16 and didn't come back till he was dead. While my Daddy was married to Jo, Maggie's mom, he drank like crazy. He always said it was when he came home one night and had scared Jo with his anger that the next morning he stopped, he couldn't do that to her or his child. He never allowed alcohol in the house, but of course we have all tried it. " she said, then let out a light sigh as she continued, the smile coming back on her face. "That's how I know though that what Momma said is true. She had a wonderful upbringing, and they are total opposites but they came together and I have never seen two people more in love than them. The age difference, their different upbringing's, nothing stopped their love"

Daryl just sat there, listening to her for a few moments before he spoke.

"Well I'm glad they found each other cuz if not the pain in my ass that is you would not be 'ere" he said, trying to sound gruff but failing when the smirk came on his lips. Her eyes flashed a bright blue as she giggled.

"Funny, you're the pain in the ass" she said as she pushed on his arm again.

"Naw, I have it on good authority that you are the pain, not me" he said, his smirk still laying on his lips

"Oh yeah, who's authority?" she asked, her eyebrow raised and the smile still bright.

"Mine…..I's driving so what I say goes….yer the pain" he said, causing her to let loose a stream of giggles that made his chest feel tight. 'God I love that sound' he thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the road.

"Oh my" Beth breathed out after pulling herself together from the giggles.

"What? Somethin' wrong?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.

"Naw, up there where that red mailbox is, make a right. That's my drive" she said softly. He nodded as he slowed down to beside the mailbox that had the faded letters GREENE written on it and made the turn. They drove down the dirt road in silence, till a huge white house came into view, surrounded by fields as far as Daryl could see. He started to slow when he saw her panicked eyes. Before he could really think, he took his right hand off of the steering wheel and placed it over her fidgeting one, encasing her small, delicate hand in his huge, caullested one.

"It's gunna be ok. Whatever happen's" he roughly said.

"Yer gunna stay right?" she whispered as she intertwined her fingers with his. He took a deep breath at the feel and turned his attention to their joined hands for a moment and then his eyes met her beautiful blue ones.

"I'll stay as long as you want me too. I ain't goin' nowhere"


	13. Chapter 13

_**I'm going to get to meet Norman, Emily, Steven and Michael this weekend and I cannot contain my excitement! I might have to climb Norman like a tree :-) Now onto the story...THIS IS IT...the reunion. Hope you like it!**_

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"I'll stay as long as you want me too. I ain't goin' nowhere"

Daryl's words calmed the worry that had crept up on me as we came to a stop a little ways away from the porch steps. What if nobody was left? What if I was all alone now in this world? The feel of Daryl's hand in mine as he shut off the truck made me realize that no matter what I found, I wouldn't truly be alone. My breath hitched and I felt him squeeze my hand as the front door opened and out came one of the most beautiful images I had only seen in my dreams. Instantly my eyes filled with tears as I stared at her for a moment. I could see the confusion at the site of the unfamiliar truck in her eyes until they locked on mine and instantly I saw her start to shake.

"BETHY" she cried as I pulled open the truck door and she ran down the steps. We met in the middle in a mess of arms and tears as we clutched each other.

"Oh God Mags. " I cried as I held her and breathed in her familiar sent of jasmine. I could feel her shaking around me as we both cried.

"Bethy, I can't believe it's you. We all thought….thought that you….oh god Bethy I'm so sorry" she kept crying, tears falling harder and harder. I faintly heard the truck door open and shut and then heard my door shut too. Maggie must have heard it too because I felt her instantly stiffen and I could tell her gaze was on Daryl.

"That's my friend Daryl. He saved me Maggie" I breathed out through my tears and I felt her ease up just a little. But before I could say anything else, I heard a voice that I was not sure I would ever hear again.

"Did you?" She asked, her voice turning to that protective sister tone I knew all too well. I saw Daryl raise his eyebrow at her and shake his head.

"Naw, she saved herself and saved me. She's a little spitfire yer sister" he replied back, a little smirk on his lips directed at me, causing a rush of warm to go through me. I saw Maggie's eyes soften just a little toward Daryl as she gave him another once over.

"My sister?" Maggie started to say as she turned back to look at me but the sound of the screen door opening again cut off whatever else she was going to say.

"Maggie, what is all the comm….." Daddy's voice filled the air as he came out onto the porch, stopping as soon as his eyes locked on mine. "Doodlebug?" He breathed out, his words no louder than a whisper as he started to come down the steps toward me. I let go of Maggie and ran toward him, almost knocking him over with the force of my embrace. I could feel him sobbing into my shoulder, his words of "oh my sweet Doodlebug. Praise God your safe Bethy" being whispered through his sobs as he held onto me.

"I missed you so much Daddy. I love you" I said as I pulled away a little and kissed his cheek.

"I love you too my Doodlebug. God saved you and brought you back to us" he said as he wiped some of the tears off of my cheeks.

"It was part God, and part Daryl" I replied with a small smile as I turned in his embrace to look at the redneck that was leaning up against the truck. He was watching the reunion with invested eyes, but was still watching our surroundings as well. Always on alert.

"Is this Daryl?" My daddy asked as we walked over to where Daryl was standing. The smile on my daddy's face never wavering as Daryl pushed himself off of the truck and stood just a little straighter now that he was the focus of my father's attention.

"Daryl, this is my daddy Hershel Greene and my sister Maggie Greene. Daddy, Maggie, this is Daryl Dixon. He saved my life a few times over and helped me get home" I said, the smile on my face growing by the second.

"Thank you son for bringing my Bethy home to us" Daddy said as he extended his hand toward Daryl. I saw Daryl stare at it for a second before he glanced my way. I smiled brightly at him and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch up for just split second before he wiped his hand on his pants and extended his back to Daddy, both shaking hands.

"Yes, thank you Daryl" Maggie said as she wrapped her arms around Daryl in a hug. I saw the instant he tensed up, but he didn't push her away. I could see Daddy saw it too but didn't say anything about it. Maggie released him and stepped back toward me, wrapping her arm around me. I could tell she needed the reassurance that I was there and I didn't blame her. I couldn't believe that I was home either. All that time with the group, thinking I was going to have to do the trek alone until Daryl offered. He did save me, not just physically, but emotionally too….no matter what he says.

I heard the front door open again and turned to see Patricia and Otis coming out of the house. I ran to the both of them, hugging them tightly. After the introductions of them to Daryl, I took a look around the farm as I waited to see the two people that were missing from the reunion. After a minute and still no appearance I asked the question I was not sure I wanted to know the answer too anymore.

"Daddy, where is Momma and Shawn?"

The look that came over Daddy's face spoke volumes, instantly telling me that some of my worst fears were going to be recognized. I saw his eyes lock onto Maggie's , an unspoken message being relayed and I pulled away to face them both.

"Where are they? What happened?" I asked again, my voice rising from the sheer fear of what I was going to hear. I felt a pair of strong hands rest on my shoulders and smelt his familiar scent of leather and smoke but didn't take my gaze off of my sister and daddy.

"Bethy, I'm sorry" Daddy started but got choked up on his words as the tears started to roll down his cheeks again.

"NO!" I state angrily as I look at the both of them, turning my attention from my father to my sister. If he couldn't tell me, she sure as hell was going too.

"Shawn got bit while in town trying to get supplies. We didn't know how this virus worked so Annette stayed with him. She must have fallen asleep during the night because we woke up to screams. He bit her. There was nothing we could do" Maggie said, her gaze going from me to daddy, another unspoken message being relayed between the two. But I couldn't think of that right now, the world around me was spinning out of control. My momma and my brother?

"No" I state again, this time softer as the spinning got worse and then my legs gave out on me. The feel of Daryl's strong arms and hands on me are the last things I think of as my world goes black.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hi Everybody! I am deeply and truly sorry for the delay in getting this chapter and all of my other stories updated. I am not really one for leaving readers hanging, and I know how annoying it is when you are enjoying a story and then it just stops. I had to put my beloved dog Mackey down at the beginning of December after having him for over 14 years (he would have been 15 on the 26th of December) and that, on top of traveling to Florida to visit my family over the holidays just left me with no writing spirt. But I think I have found it again and I promise I will start working on all of my fics again. I love all of you and thank you so much for continuing to read and follow everything I do. So now, onto the next chapter, hope you like it.**_

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"No" Beth's voice comes out as more of a whimper and just as she begins to fall, Daryl's arms are around her, picking her up and cradling her to his chest.

"Oh my god Bethy" Maggie cried as she rushed over to check on her, Hershel right beside her.

"Jus' passed out. Gotta place I can lay 'er?" Daryl grumbled out, his eyes going from Hershel's back down to Beth's, hoping that's really all that it is.

"Yeah, this way" the farmer explains as he moves toward the door of the farmhouse, Maggie moving out of the way for Daryl but he can feel her right behind him, gripping Beth's limp hand.

"Lay her down right here" Hershel states as he motions for Daryl to put her on the couch in front of him. Daryl gently bends down and places her on the couch, his hand gently moving the hair off of her face before he catches himself and steps back. 'Stupid, can't be touch'in 'er like that, especially in front of her Daddy. He is gunna get his shot gun after ya Baby Brother' Merle's voice growled out. But as he turned to look at Hershel, all he sees in the farmers face is a slight smile as he nods at Daryl and then leans down on one knee in front of Beth.

"My sweet Doodlebug. Can't believe you came home to us" he whispered as he kissed her forehead. A part of Daryl felt weird watching it, like he was invading a special family moment. 'A family moment he never had, no Dixon ever had' he thought angrily. But before he could start to move back toward the door Maggie came out of the kitchen, handing her Dad a bowl filled with water and motioning for Daryl to sit down, giving him a glass of lemonade. He very gently sat down on the edge of one of the chairs, not wanting to get it dirty from his nasty clothes. Everything in the house looked lived in, cozy but still clean. Not something a Dixon was ever supposed to be in. He looked down at the glass in his hand, it was actually cold. He had to hand it to the old man, keeping things going around here like he had, especially after his wife and boy got killed, took guts. He could see were Beth got it from.

"Can you tell me what happened to her? How did you all meet?" Hershel asked, his voice just above a whisper as he continued to wipe Beth's face and arms down. Daryl looked up, met the farmers eyes and then looked at Beth as a small smile formed on his lips.

"Two of the guys that were in our group, Glenn and T'Dogg, they found Beth on the side of the road after her truck broke down outside of Atlanta"

"That damn truck was a piece of shit" Maggie broke in with a snort, causing Hershel to look up at her with his eyebrow raised.

"Sorry Daddy, but it was" she stated with the slightest of shrugs. Daryl chucked slightly, cuz he had to agree with her and continued.

"Well I saw Beth one night arguin' with the guy that thought he was leadin' our group and she went off cryin'. Don't know what possessed me, but I followed 'er. She told me about the farm and about ya'll and how she was going to get back, even if Shane (that's the guy that thought he was the leader) didn't help. She said she would go alone." He said as he drifted his gaze back over to Beth's on the couch "Got a stubborn girl there"

"I'm not stubborn you jerk" Beth's soft voice filled the air and caused him to release a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Please….stubborn as they come" Daryl continued, a small smirk on his face again. "She also got into a few arguments in camp before we left" Adding that, not being able to help himself after he saw her open her eyes and try to glare at him.

"Well they were being horrible to you. Next time I won't do nothing to protect ya" she said, the stubbornness on her face in the wake of her still wooziness proving Daryl's point caused both Hershel and Maggie, both forgotten while Daryl and Beth bantered to burst out laughing.

"We missed you Doodlebug" Hershel said down to his daughter, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. She smiled into the embrace and then looked over at Daryl. The smile on her face made every fiber of his being sizzle. She mouthed 'thank you' and he could do nothing but nod in return. The girl and her smile left him breathless.

"I missed you too Daddy. So I take it you got room for me and Daryl to stay? I told him that he could stay as long as he wanted" Beth stated as she pulled away from Hershel. Daryl wanted to hide, he could feel the redness moving up his neck at just the look of pure determination on Beth's face. She wasn't going to take no for an answer and what if Hershel didn't want him here. He couldn't be the cause of a rift between this girl and her family. He would leave first without her. That thought alone sent a cold chill down his spine. 'When did I get so attached to her?'

"Of course we have room for both of you. Daryl is welcome to stay for as long as he likes. " Hershel's words broke Daryl out of his thoughts, shocking him. He really had thought the old man would not let him stay. No matter how nice he was when he met him, he didn't think the man would want some redneck asshole around his daughters, but Hershel was not looking at him like most people looked at him. Hershel was looking at him with welcoming in his eyes. Hell even Maggie had lost most of her hesitant look.

"We got a few empty rooms" Maggie started as she took Daryl's now empty glass from him.

"Naw, I got a tent in the truck, I can just sit that up outside. Don't want to be a burden" he replied gruffly, his hand instantly rubbing the back of his neck. He really was not sure how to handle all of these people being so nice to him so suddenly. With the exception of Beth, none of them knew him. It was because of her that they were even giving him a chance.

"Nonsense Son, you are staying inside the house. Now, who is hungry? We can discuss all of this over dinner. You two look like you could use a good meal" Hershel said as he stood up slowly from the side of the couch. Daryl instantly reached out to help him, Merle's voice in his head calling him 'pussy' as he did. "Thanks, Son" he replied, a smile in his eyes as Daryl let him go and backed up a little. Daryl could feel his neck starting to get red again as he watched Hershel and Maggie walk toward the kitchen, leaving Beth and Daryl in the living room. Beth moved slowly into a sitting position and sighed, folding her hands into her lap.

"Ya doin' alright?" he asked, instantly regretting it. Of course she isn't doing alright ya dumbass!

"Yeah, it's just so much to take in. Coming back, seeing them, then finding out about Momma and Shawn. Guess I wasn't strong enough to handle it" she replied, still looking at her hands.

"Naw, you are plenty strong Beth" Daryl replied, covering her tiny hands with one of his big ones. "Nobody can handle all of that in one day, on top of not eating a lot and all the traveling an everythin' else we been thru in a few days' time. Even I have felt light headed a few times in the past few days."

"Yeah but you didn't pass out" she replied with a little frown

"Yeah, I had to get yer skinny ass 'ere. I am gunna pass out tonight though. I 'ear there is a soft bed just callin' my name" he replied with a smirk, causing her to giggle and lightly hit his arm.

"Come on my brave savior, let's get something to eat before they come looking for us" she said as she started to stand, Daryl by her side in an instant making sure she was steady. 'Such a pussy Baby Brother' his brother's voice sneered. At this moment he didn't care what Merle's voice said. He could smell something coming from the kitchen the likes of which he had not smelled in a long time, if ever and he was still by Beth's side. One day soon he figured she would wise up and tell him to leave, because he fucked something up like Dixon's do. But right now he was going to enjoy it and grabbed her hand, giving her the strength she needed to go into the kitchen and learn more about what happened to her Momma and brother. She flashed him a beautiful smile before they walked in and he thought to himself 'Yeah, I probably am a pussy'


	15. Chapter 15

_**Hi Everybody! I just had to write something today. My heart is so broken right now over the loss of the ultimate legend Prince. He was my absolute favorite performer and the world has lost an incredible talent today. RIP Prince...**_

 _ **So this chapter is a little filler, but I hope you still love it anyway.**_

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"So can you tell us about what happened while you were out there Bethy?" Hershel asked as they ate. Daryl raised his eyes toward Beth and then looked back down at his food. It had been so long since he had seen real food, let alone some of the best fried chicken that he had ever had. That Patricia woman knew how to cook up a bird.

"Well I got out of Atlanta right after I talked to you. Bessie made it to the outskirts" Daryl couldn't help but snort at the name of her truck again and saw her flash him a glare but with a small smile as she continued "before she died on me. I got really lucky that Glenn and T-Dogg showed up when they did, because I didn't really know anything about the walkers or how to kill them." Daryl saw Hershel shoot Maggie a look but didn't really think anything of it as Beth kept talking "I had been cornered and would have died if they had not found me and saved me." She said as she took a breath. The memory of how close she came then to losing her life running thru her head. "They both took me back to their camp and that is where I met Daryl and the rest of the group." She said with a soft smile as she looked over at Daryl, his lip twitching slightly back at her. He still couldn't figure out what it was about this girl that made him actually want to smile. He was a Dixon, they don't smile, or even want to smile. All of her sunshine and light was messing with the darkness in his head. He watched her as she continued onto the story, her eyes expressing all of the emotions they had been thru. He noticed that she left out the part about Merle and his being left on a roof and was thankful for it. Her Daddy might have felt ok letting him stay now but if he found out that he had an even worse, redneck, racist asshole for a brother, he might take his invitation back.

"You were at the CDC?" Hershel interrupted when Beth got to that part of their story. Daryl and Beth both nodded as the former took a huge bite of the mashed potatoes on his plate. He started wondering if maybe Patricia had taught Beth to cook like her.

"Yeah, there was only one scientist left, all of the other ones had either died or fled. He had stayed to try to finish figuring out what all this was. While we were there he showed us what happens when you are infected." She continued, a tear streaming down her face. He fought the urge to reach over and wipe it from her cheek.

"Did they have a cure? Did they figure out how to bring the people back that have turned?" Hershel asked, the hope in his eyes apparent. Daryl couldn't help but shake his head, had this man not seen anything being on this farm.

"There is no bringin' 'em back after they turned. They are dead. If you get bit or scratched by them, you die. The fever or blood loss kills ya. That doctor showed us on the big screen. All of those little brain waves, they stopped workin" Daryl said with a low growl.

"He just didn't know what was going on. There has to be more people out there working" Hershel continued. Daryl wasn't sure if he was just acting like he didn't hear what he said or just choosing to ignore it.

"He knew. He said the last people in contact were the French but by then there was no power left to communicate. His wife had volunteered to be a test subject after she had been bit. They showed her progress on the screen Daddy. We watched her brain waves as she did. What once was lit up by her brain functions slowly went black as she died. When she re-animated as a walker, her brain stem started up again, but nothing else. There was no brain waves, everything else was still black. The brain stem just works enough to get them moving again, but once they succumb to the bite, they are dead" Beth finished as the tears started falling down her face more. By then Daryl couldn't take it anymore and reached over, grabbing her hand. She smiled at him thru her tears and looked back at her Daddy and Maggie. "They have no memory of who they are. You know I know what I was looking at Daddy, I know what I saw. They are not alive like we are" Daryl squeezed her hand and then watched as sadness washed over Maggie's face. She instantly reached out for Beth and Hershel's hands.

"Why did you end up leaving the CDC?" Hershel asked, apparently not wanting to know anything more about the walkers.

"Dr Jenner, that's the doctor that was still there. He trapped us in. The entire place was going to blow after all of the air ran out, a precaution due to all of the hazardous materials that they had there. He thought that we would be better off dying like that. Finally Rick convinced him to let us out and Daryl had to carry me out of there" she said a little sheepishly as she looked back over at Daryl.

"Why was that Bethy?" Maggie asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"I was in shock I guess. I couldn't move. Daryl got me out. He saved my life again" she said, flashing him another smile which caused a funny feeling in his stomach. 'Come on now….Dixon's don't get butterflies from girls smiles' he thought to himself as he squeezed her hand again. Yeah he was in trouble and it was all her fault.


	16. Chapter 16

"Daddy, you heard Beth and Daryl" Maggie whispered to her father out on the porch later on that night. She had been thinking about what Beth and Daryl had both said about the infected people and it was starting to really worry her what they had been doing. "What if they were right and Momma and Shawn are…"

"Stop that talk right now Margaret! There is no truth in what they just said to us" Hershel whispered stubbornly.

"Are you serious? Are you calling them liars? You know Bethy knows what she saw on that screen" Maggie whispered angrily back.

"I don't think they are lying. I think they believe that is what they saw. You heard them Maggie, the man was going to blow them all up. He was mentally not stable and did not know what was real anymore. There will be cure, I just know it" Hershel said, turning from his daughter and looking out onto the back of the farm. Maggie watched her father for a few moments. She didn't want to believe that Annette and Shawn were dead but the way that Beth and Daryl both spoke, she knew it was not as simple as what her father was trying to make it out to be, but she also knew how stubborn he could be.

"We have to tell Bethy about the barn. We can't keep somethin' like this from her" Maggie stated as she walked back over to Hershel.

"No, we will not! You will not tell…."he started to whisper even more angrily when the screen door came open and Daryl walked out, crossbow over his shoulder. Hershel and Maggie both stopped talking and looked over at him. Daryl knew something was up, but it was not his business. If they wanted to keep their secrets that was fine, as long as they didn't affect him and Beth.

"Hey Daryl!" Maggie said with a smile as he walked farther out onto the porch. "Bethy inside still?"

"Yea, she is upstairs. Claims she is settin' up my room. Told her to not make a fuss but she won't listen" he said with a low growl.

"Well that's our Bethy, stubborn as a mule. Wonder where she gets that from?" she asked, her eyebrow raised toward Hershel. The older man threw her a glare and Maggie turned back to Daryl. "I'm gunna go see her. I still cannot believe she is back." She said as she gently kissed Hershel on the cheek and then walked toward the door, slowing down as she passed Daryl. Before he could do anything, she leaned up and kissed his cheek as well. "Thank you so much again Daryl" and she walked into the house. He stood there frozen for a few moments. He was not used to so many people being nice to him, people being welcoming of him. He was a Dixon, they were told to never come back, not that they were welcome.

"You want to walk with me Son? I was going to walk around the property a little" Hershel said as he stepped off of the steps. Daryl froze again at being called 'son' and then thought for a second, he was going to do the same thing anyway, so what would it hurt to walk with Beth's father. He seemed like a decent enough man, even if he was hiding something. But everybody had secrets, right?

"Sure, was gunna do that anyway" he replied as he followed Hershel down the steps and toward the driveway. He looked around at all of the trees and land in front of him. He wondered what it was like for Beth to grow up here. He could picture a little girl with blond pigtails running around and a smile started to form on his face that he immediately stopped when he realized what he was doing.

"So where are you from Daryl?" Hershel asked as they walked past a fence holding a few cows.

"A little town about a half hour from 'ere" he grumbled out, wondering immediately after why he felt comfortable enough to tell this man anything about his past.

"Your family still alive?" The older man asked. Daryl shook his head as he readjusted his crossbow.

"Naw. My brother might be but don't know" Daryl growled as he walked a little ahead of the older man. He could feel Hershel's eyes on him as he walked.

"I want to thank you again Daryl. What you did for my little girl, you brought her home" Hershel stated slowly, stopping their walk.

"No need to thank me. Beth saved my life and stuck up for me. I'm sure ya can figure that doesn't happen a bunch" Daryl stated as he looked at the ground. He heard Hershel laugh just a little and looked up at him.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to bring her here. You are a good man Daryl Dixon and I just want to make sure you know that you are welcome to stay here as long as you want" Hershel said as he stuck his hand out to Daryl. Daryl looked at it for a moment and placed his hand in Hershel's to shake.

"Thank you" was all he replied and then they kept on walking.

* * *

When they got back, they found Beth sitting on the front porch steps. Hershel walked by, leaning down to place a kiss on her head and then walked inside. Daryl waited for him to go in and then sat down beside Beth.

"Did you have a nice walk?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah, it was nice. You got a lot of land" he replied

"Yeah, it's a beautiful place. I love it here" she said softly

"Ya Dad told me again that I can stay 'ere as long as I want. Is that still ok wit' you?" He asked, suddenly terrified that she would say no. 'Why the hell am I worried about that?' he thought to himself

"Of course it is. But I was thinking" she started and he turned to look at her.

"Bout what?" He asked

"Do you want to go try to find Merle? We could use this as a base and start doing searches for him" she said as she looked at her hands. She suddenly seemed shy and he didn't understand why, but she had said 'we' so did that mean she wanted to help him?

"We? Does that mean you want to help me?" He asked, a little smirk on his lips.

"Of course, if you want me too! Daryl, you saved my life more than I can count and you brought me home to my family. If I can help you find yours, I will do that happily" she said, her smile back on her face. He looked at her, speechless. Was this girl for real? He had never met anybody like her before, so kind and generous and beautiful. 'Beautiful? Where the hell did that come from?' he asked himself. _'Oh come off it baby brother, you know she is finer than wine_ " Merle's voice rang out in his head. He shook his head softly to clear the voices and looked back at her.

"I appreciate tha' offer Beth, but we lost his trail in Atlanta. He could be anywhere wit' his stubborn ass" he growled out. He saw Beth furrow her eyebrows and took her hand in his without thinking. "I do appreciate it. But let's worry bout gettin' settled 'ere first and rest up a few days. Let me think on it, ok?"

"Ok" she said as she squeezed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder as they watched the sunset. _'Yeah baby brother, yer screwed'_ he heard Merle's voice cackle at him.


	17. Chapter 17

"Daryl, do you think you have enough blankets?" Beth asked as they walked toward the door to the room that was now his, at least for a little while.

"Yeah, I should be fine. Ya'll don't have to go all out for me. I have made do with a lot less. My tent outside woulda been fine" he replied, his voice going quiet.

"Nonsense Daryl, you are one of us now. What's ours is now yours, so just accept it" she said with a sweet smile that caused a flush to appear on the tips of his ears and his neck.

"Um…..thanks Beth" Daryl mumbled out. He was unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of goodness, and this girl in front of him, her whole family but Beth especially just exuded goodness. He still was unsure of how to handle all of it. But Beth, being the observant person she was could see it and just smiled softly at him again and leaned up toward him.

"Good night Daryl. Let me know if you need anything" she said as she softly kissed his cheek. As she placed herself back on her feet, she swapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you again Daryl, for everything" she breathed out and before he had a chance to even think of moving his arms around her, she was down the hall and closing the door that he assumed was to her bedroom. He stood there, watching her door for moment, placing his hand on the spot that still burned on his cheek from her kiss until the voice in his head, the voice that sounded so much like Merle broke him out of his trance.

 _"Get movin' little brother. You gunna turn into a sap on me cuz of a pretty blonde"_

Daryl shook his head, trying to rid himself of his brother's voice and headed toward his room. As he laid his head on the pillow, he realized that this was the first real bed he had slept on in a long time. He had never been thankful for anything before, but right at that moment he was thankful for the friendship of a petite blonde with beautiful blue eyes.

* * *

Beth tossed and turned in her bed, trying to get comfortable. She didn't want to admit what was wrong. She was in her own bed, she should be able to fall asleep. But try as she might, she could not do it. She didn't want to be one of those girls that depended on a man, but she knew that over the past few weeks she had grown used to having Daryl beside her as she slept. And even though he was only a few doors down, that it was too far. She didn't want to be attached like that, but they had developed a closeness, a bond, a friendship. She didn't know how to describe it any other way but that. Of course she found him attractive, any woman with eyes would agree with that, but it was more than that. Their friendship, even though it was only a few weeks old, meant more to her than any other friendship she ever had.

She sighed as she turned to lay on her back, slamming her fists into her bed. It was no use, she was not getting any sleep unless she was beside him. But would he want her beside him? Would she be overstepping the bonds of their friendship? Of course before they slept close, they had too for survival. But now they were safe, or safer. They didn't have to sleep together to stay warm, or to stay protected. Would he call her crazy and kick her out?

"Auugghh" she screamed into her pillow and then threw it to the side of her as she got out of bed. After she adjusted her tank top and shorts, she slipped on her favorite bunny slippers and quietly opened her bedroom door. She didn't want her Daddy to see her sneaking out of her room, even though she was over age, she knew he still would not like it, even if she and Daryl were just friends.

She took a deep breath and softly knocked on his door, silently praying that he wasn't already asleep and would not kick her out. After a few seconds, she heard footsteps and then the door slowly opened. As his eyes adjusted, she saw them soften when he realized it as her.

"Beth, what's wrong?" He growled out, his voice low and deep

"I couldn't sleep" she said quietly and instantly it seemed to Beth that he knew exactly what she wanted as he pushed the door open and ushered her in. He wasn't going to tell her, but he wasn't able to sleep without her either. He hated it, he used to be able to sleep anywhere, but now he needed this slip of a girl near him to feel comfortable.

"Get in, I want the right side" he growled out, but with a small smirk that Beth could see from the moonlight coming thru the window. She smiled back at him and walked over to the other side of the bed. As she did, he tried really hard to not notice how short her shorts were, how tight her tank top was, or how it rode up just a little to show off a patch of skin that looked shimmery in the moonlight. No, he was not looking at her at all as he moved and laid himself down on the side of the bed.

 _"Yeah you were little brother, don't blame ya either_ " Merle's voice cackled as he felt Beth slide into her side of the bed.

"Thank you Daryl. I guess I just got used to having you close. You make me feel safe" she said the last part really softly, like it was a secret she was keeping. He was quiet for a few moments, long enough for Beth to think maybe she made a mistake saying anything. Then she felt him take her hand, twine their fingers together and replied.

"Me too Beth"


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hi everybody! Thank you so much for sticking with this story and all of my other stories while I have gone thru my writers block/brain fart stage. Now that the holidays are over and I'm back from vacation, I am getting new inspiration for all of my stories. I hope you like this update.** _

* * *

The next morning, Beth slowly woke up feeling warm….warm and safe. It was the safe that made her eyes pop open, remembering the events of the day before. She felt the arm that was wrapped around her waist and smiled, knowing the strong man attached to the arm was the real reason for her feeling safe. She could feel Daryl behind her, softly snoring and dead to the world. It was unusual for her to be awake before him, but he had to always be on his guard while they were out so he didn't get much rest and he needed it. All she really wanted was to snuggle deeper into the covers and into Daryl's embrace but she knew that if he were to wake up with them like this, he would be embarrassed and she really didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He had done so much for her already, even catering to the fact she was too much of a baby to sleep by herself anymore. He didn't make fun of her, or criticize her when she told him she couldn't sleep. He just let her in and held her hand as she fell asleep.

She let out a small sigh and gingerly moved his arm off of her and slid out of the bed. She could hear sounds from down in the kitchen and just the thought of breakfast had her stomach growling. She turned to look at Daryl and smiled again. He looked so relaxed in his sleep and it caused the small butterflies in her stomach to take flight knowing that she helped in some way for him to relax. She knew she had developed feelings for the strong man lying in the bed in front of her. Who could blame her really after everything they had been thru, but it was more than that for her. She smiled again at him and then slowly crept out of the door, careful not to wake the sleeping man. He needed his rest.

* * *

"Morning Maggie, Morning Daddy" Beth said as she walked into the kitchen, kissing her Daddy on the cheek as she walked by.

"Morning Doodlebug. How did you sleep?" Hershel asked, his eyebrow raised at his daughter. Beth whipped her head up at his question and at seeing his look her cheeks turned red. She knew she had been caught.

"Sorry Daddy. I just got so used to sleeping beside Daryl while we were out there that I couldn't sleep without him beside me. But I swear, nothing happened" she said, her most honest look on her face. Hershel just looked at her for another moment and smiled at her.

"I know Bethy. I cannot even fathom what you and that young man went thru while you were out there. If sleeping beside him gives either of you some peace, I'm not going to say anything. We can all use some peace right now" Hershel said as he took the last sip of his coffee. Beth smiled brightly and jumped up, kissing him again on his cheek as he stood and hugged him tightly. "Just make sure it stays innocent" he continued as he kissed her head. Beth giggled and hugged him tighter. "That young man has had a rough life, you can tell by looking at him. But you can also tell he is a good man. Any man that would help you like he did Bethy is good, and as far as I am concerned it was an act of God that brought him to you" he said with a smile as he kissed her cheek again and moved out of her embrace. Beth just watched him as he sat his cup on the counter, kissed Maggie's cheek and walked out of the kitchen. She knew her Daddy was a good man, but right then she knew he was one of the best. He didn't judge Daryl on his outward appearance, unlike most of the guys in their old group. He judged him on his actions.

* * *

"Here, eat Bethy and then tell me everything that happened" Maggie said as she sat a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.

"I told you and Daddy everything yesterday" Beth said as she took a bite of her food. God, she really missed this.

"Oh you told us the rated version, I want to hear all the details. Tell me more about how you and Daryl became friends" she said with a sly smile. Beth could feel the blush rise up on her cheeks but started telling her the story.

* * *

"Excuse me Sir" Daryl said as he saw Hershel standing out on the porch that morning. He had heard Beth and Maggie talking in the kitchen and turned around, letting them have their sister time. He figured he would take a quick smoke and then go in for breakfast, but running into Beth's Daddy helped him tackle another thing he needed to do.

"You don't need to call me Sir, its Hershel" he replied with a smile

"Ok Hershel" Daryl said a little uncomfortably as he rubbed his neck. He still wasn't used to people treating him so nice. "I was wonderin' if it I could go huntin' this mornin' in yer woods? I wanted ta bring somethin' back for yer dinner to thank ya for lettin' me stay" he said nervously. He didn't think it would be a big deal, but he had learned early on in life about asking anybody for anything.

"Of course you can Daryl. You don't have to thank us for having you here, as I told you before you are welcome to stay as long as you want. But that being said, I'm sure myself and the girls would love to eat whatever you catch. We are going to have one more with us tonight too. Otis, a good friend of our family will be staying starting today. His wife caught the virus a little while back and he finally took me up on my offer to stay here." Hershel said with a smile as his gaze drifted to the barn for a moment and then back to Daryl.

"If you need tha room for yer friend, I can move into the tent" Daryl started but stopped when Hershel placed his hands up in front of him.

"No, we have plenty of room, as you may have noticed. It is no trouble and I don't want to hear anything more about your tent" Hershel said, his voice firm but his eyes still kind.

"Yes, Sir" Daryl stated with a smirk as Merle's voice mocked him in his head 'Yes Sir, listen at cha Baby Brother! Ya turned into a right pussy'

* * *

"So let me get this straight? You put yourself in between two ex-cops and Daryl? "Maggie asked, her eyebrow raised at her sister.

"Yes, you didn't see it Maggie. They double teamed him. He was just upset about his brother and they acted like he had no right. If it had been you on that roof, I would have acted the same way" Beth said with a growl.

"Yeah well Maggie isn't a redneck jackass like my brother was, so it wouldn't have happened to begin with" Daryl said as he walked into the kitchen, crossbow strapped to his back and a slight smile on his face.

"Doesn't matter what he was, he was your brother and they shouldn't have acted like they did when they told you about what happened" Beth said, folding her arms across her check in a huff.

"Yeah well I didn't handle the situation well either. Didn't even know what I was saying till this girl started yelling" he said with a smirk. Beth let out a giggle at that and shook her head as Maggie watched them both with a close eye.

"You going somewhere with that Daryl?" Maggie asked, pointing at the crossbow strapped to his back.

"Gunna go hunting. You want anything special for dinner?" He asked, answering Maggie but looking right at Beth.

"Oh if you could catch a rabbit, I could make a stew for dinner. How does that sound?" She asked, the smile bright on her face.

'Damn good. I'll see what I can do" he said as he grabbed two pieces of bacon off of her plate and walked toward the door, Beth following close behind him.

"Be careful" she said softly as he walked out the back door. This would be the longest they had been separated from each other since they left the group and it was worrying her more than she wanted to admit. He turned and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Gotta be. Gotta bring ya a rabbit right? " he said as he turned back around and headed toward the woods. Beth watched him go till she couldn't see him anymore. Letting out a sigh, she shut the door and turned around, finding Maggie watching her with a knowing smile.

"What?" Beth asked as she sat back down at the table and tried to hide her face as she took a drink of her watch.

"Oh dear sister….you have so much more you need to explain to me about this friendship you have with Daryl "my arms are works of art" Dixon" Maggie said with an even bigger smile.


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you to everybody that has reviewed and favored this story. I think I might be sticking with this one for a little bit, because I have a few things I want to do before I go back to my other two stories. And to the reviewer that pointed out that I had Otis and Patricia in one of my other chapters and then killed Patricia off in the last one, thank you for pointing that out. Your right and I totally forgot. Just assume that what I wrote in the last chapter is accurate and Patricia is dead. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Daryl entered the tree line into the woods on the Greene farm and took a deep breath. He instantly felt all of the stress he had fade away. It had always been like that for him, no matter what was going on with him and his life, he always felt better when he entered the woods. As he started to walk, looking for a trail to follow, he started thinking about the events of the last few days. He had never met anybody as warm and friendly as Beth, but he had been worried that her family would not accept him, make him leave. He was still shocked at how they had embraced him. Their home was filled with love, even with the world being as messed up as it was now, and that was something that he had never experienced before. They were still welcoming, still kind, even though they had had tons of heartbreak too since this whole thing started. He remembered when Beth found out about her Momma and brother. He couldn't help but feel the flutters in his stomach at the thought of her, but pushed them aside. He didn't want to focus on the feelings that were stirring for her. She was beautiful, that was obvious, but she was also tough. If he had not already known that, he would have realized it after yesterday. She handled finding out about her family with grace after the shock wore off. A little smirk crossing his lips as he remembered her coming into his room last night. He had not been able to sleep without her either, but refused to do anything about it. She was obviously far braver than he was. Catching sight of a rabbit trail, he smiled to himself and followed the trail, knowing that at the end he would have something to make that smile he now loved to see bloom on Beth's face.

* * *

"Daddy, do you need any help?" Beth asked as she walked toward her Daddy as he pumped water from the well.

"Naw Bethy, I think I got it. But if you don't mind, could you feed the horses?" He asked as he finished pumping and sat the water jug down.

"Sure Daddy" Beth replied with a smile as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. Before she could pull away, she felt her Daddy's arms around her, pulling her close.

"I'm so glad you're here and save Beth. You don't know the worry we had over you" Hershel said, a slight sob in his voice. Beth snuggled herself into his embrace and smiled.

"I'm glad I'm here too. I was so scared that all of you would be gone, or ya know…" she said, not being able to bring herself to say the words. "Daryl had to calm me down on the drive here, because I kept fidgeting." She said with a little giggle.

"I can imagine" he replied with a chuckle of his own. "How are you doing with everything else?" He continued, his voice instantly somber.

"I'm dealing. I'm not sure if it has hit me fully yet that Momma and Shawn are dead" she said, still snuggled into his chest, missing the look of disagreement flash on Hershel's face at her words. "I just keep telling myself that you gotta keep going."

"I just hate that you are hurting Bethy" Hershel replied, stroking her hair.

"When you love somebody, hurt is part of the package" she breathed out

"Those are wise words Bethy" Hershel replied, causing Beth to pull away with a smile

"You would think so, since you're the one that told me that" she replied with a giggle, happy that the mood was lightened just a little. "Thank you Daddy" she said as she kissed his cheek again and started toward the barn.

"Oh Bethy! The horses are not in that barn anymore, we moved them to the barn on the other side of the property" Hershel called as he saw his daughter moving toward the barn closest to them.

"Why?" She asked as she turned to look at him. She saw him fidget just a little but before she could question it, he started to speak.

"The floor and roof is rotting away, we don't go into it anymore because it's too dangerous. So we moved all the animals into the other one. Could you do me a favor and let Daryl know to stay away from that barn too? I don't think I told him and we really don't need any accidents right now" Hershel said, his heart stopped hoping his daughter bought his story.

"Of course Daddy. I will tell him as soon as I see him. And it was good thinking to just close it up, that could have been really dangerous" she replied with a smile as she took off toward the other barn, Hershel letting out a breath as he watched her go. He then said a silent prayer that his daughter would understand why he was lying to her. He firmly believed that normally lying was not the answer, but in his heart he thought he was doing the right thing this time.

* * *

"Oh my goodness Daryl" Beth exclaimed as he showed her the two rabbits he had caught. He had already skinned them for her, all she needed to do was get the meat ready for the stew. "These are wonderful. I'm going to go to the garden and get some vegetables to go into the stew. Thank you so much" she finished as she kissed his cheek. She saw his ears and his neck turn red, but she didn't comment on it. She was not about to embarrass him anymore, but she did love how shy he could be.

"I'ma go wash up" he mumbled out as he rubbed his neck. She smiled at him again, causing a small smile to come onto his lips as well as he turned and headed into the house.

* * *

"Somethin' smells really good in 'ere" Daryl said as he walked into the kitchen later on that afternoon. After he had washed up, he had spent the rest of his afternoon helping Hershel fix the motor on his farm truck.

"Thanks Daryl! I hope you like the taste of it as much as you like the smell" Beth replied with a giggle as she finished up stirring the stew and pulled out some bread from the oven. "Daryl, could you do me a favor and let everybody know that dinner is ready?" Beth asked, a sweet smile on her face. He smiled a little at the sweetness as he heard Merle's voice calling him a pussy again, something he was getting used to where Beth was concerned and nodded that he would do as she asked. Something inside of him telling him that he was going to be agreeing with what she asked for a long time to come, and what surprised him about the thought was that he wasn't bothered by it.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Hope you all like the new chapter!** _

* * *

"Bethy, can you tell me more about what that doctor told you at the CDC?" Maggie asked during dinner that night. Maggie had to know more about all of this, as she was so torn inside.

Beth had made a rabbit stew from the rabbits that Daryl had caught her earlier and her cheeks were still slightly pink from the blush that formed when Daryl told her that it was possibly the best thing he had ever tasted.

"Well it was really like we told you. Dr. Jenner showed us a picture on the screen. It was more like an xray in a way. We could see what was going on inside the patients head" Beth started

"Yea, ya could see all these little squiggly lines running thru her brain….what did ya call 'em again Beth?" Daryl asked, why he shoveled another spoonful of the stew in her mouth. She held back a chuckle at how cute he looked eating and answered.

"Brain waves, Daryl. And he is right, you could see her whole brain functioning. But has the virus set in, you could see her brain shut down, till it was completely black" she said, her voice turning sad. "Then after a few minutes, you could see a little flutters from the brain stem but nothing else. All of her brain functions were gone. The only thing working is the brain stem, which is why they can move. But everything else…" she stopped for a moment to stifle a sob "everything that made them the people we loved is gone. They are not alive. The virus and the blood loss kill you. Even if you are just bit, but get the bleeding to stop, you still die from the virus. It burns you up from the inside" she said softly, pointing toward her chest. "Didn't you see that with…..with Momma and…and Shawn?" she continued, trying not to start crying while she talked. Daryl had put his spoon down during her explanation and when she finished, he gently placed his hand on her arm. He was new at this "friends" thing, but smart enough to know she needed support right now. As he did, he saw a look shoot from Hershel to Maggie and to Otis. He knew then that they were keeping something to themselves, but they were entitled to their secrets. He assumed that it was probably a bad memory of when either Beth's Momma or brother turned and they didn't want to share it with her, which he agreed with.

"Yeah, the fever hit Shawn hard. That was why Annette was in with him that night. We didn't know then how the virus worked. If we did…." Maggie said softly, shaking her head as she looked out the window, a sad expression on her pretty face.

"I'm sure they will be able to find a cure for this" Hershel said as he placed his napkin down on the table.

"Like we said before Daddy, there is no cure. If you get bit, you die" Beth said, her tone turning strong.

"They used to say that about Aids, and now look" Hershel reasoned with a shake of his head. A small part of what Beth was telling him was sinking in, but he was stubborn and could not give this up. That was his wife in that barn, his child. No, there had to be a cure for them.

"Daddy" Beth stated as she jumped from her seat and slammed her hands on the table. "This is not like Aids. This virus kills you and brings you back to life as a monster. There is nothing worse than that. Being one of them is worse than being dead" she finished and then turned around and ran out of the room, a few seconds later the sound of the screen door slamming let them know she went outside. Daryl didn't even bother to look at any of them as he stood up and followed her out of the house. He didn't like the thought of her being out there by herself. He knew that the discussion upset her. 'Of course it did ya dipshit. She was thinkin about 'er Momma and brother" Merle's voice rang thru his head. "I know that asshole" he growled low as he walked around the corner of the house.

"Who's an asshole?" a soft voice asked him from the porch swing on the other side of the house. He turned to see Beth sitting there, curled up with her legs pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her knees. The way the moonlight shined in her hair made her look like something from heaven….."Our angel" Merle's voice told him.

"The voice in my head that sounds like Merle" Daryl stated as he walked up the side stairs and sat down beside her on the swing. He figured the honest answer would be just a crazy as any lie he could make up about talking to himself. When he heard her giggle a little, he knew he made the right call.

"What does Merle's voice tell you?" She asked, her eyes curious as she turned her head to look at him.

"Mostly stuff I can't repeat in front of ya" he said with a little smirk that caused her to giggle again. But a moment later her eyes turned sad again.

"Are ya ok?" He asked as he moved a blond curl behind her ear, causing a sweet smile to play on her lips.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have blown up like that. I know they have not witnessed it as much as we have, but my father is not a stupid man. He should know that this is not something curable. Why is he being so stubborn?" She huffed as she adjusted herself so she could lay her head on his shoulder. She felt him tense for just a second and then relax, which caused her to smile to herself again. She couldn't help but feel happy that he felt comfortable with her.

"I think he just wants to believe in somethin'. After losin' your Momma and your brother, he wants to keep his faith, his hope" Daryl said just above a whisper.

"How did you get to be so smart Mr. Dixon?" She asked with a little chuckle as she squeezed his arm, trying to stop the rush of heat she that went thru her body as she felt his bicep.

"Been hangin' around ya to long" he chuckled back as he started tickling her in the side, causing her to burst out laughing. Man how he loved that sound.

"Ok, ok, I give" Beth panted as Daryl slowed down the tickling. As he finished, he moved a little when he thought she had decided to come after him, but after a moment she had just moved her hands around his waist and hugged him tight.

"Thank you Daryl!" She breathed out as she snuggled into his chest.

"Wha for?" He asked as he slowly moved his arms around her and held her to him.

"For coming out here, for cheering me up. For just being here and being you" she mumbled into his chest as she started to fall asleep in his embrace. For a few moments he was just struck dumb. But then he brought himself back and stroked her hair softly.

"Naw girl, thank you. Thank you for being our angel" he said softly as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss to the top of her head.


	21. Chapter 21

Beth stood at the kitchen counter the next morning finishing the dishes, lost in thought. Her mind kept going back to sitting on the porch with Daryl the night before. How he tried in his own way to make her feel better, and how the simple act of putting his arms around her made her feel safe.

A small smile formed on her lips as she vaguely remembered being carried up the stairs the night before, and without being asked taken directly to his room and placed on the bed. She felt him take her shoes off and pull the covers up over her body and then the feel of his hand grasping hers. Her smile grew when she thought how he just assumed that she would want to sleep in his bed and how maybe, she made him feel safe too.

She had heard him thank her for being "our angel" as he held her. She was sure he thought she was asleep, but she hadn't been. She wondered for a split second who the other people were that made up "our" but didn't dwell on it since the bigger part was that he thought she was an angel. She felt honored, touched beyond words that somebody like Daryl thought she was special. But it scared her a little that she would not be able to live up to it and would let him down. She never wanted to let him down, ever!

"Bethy, what are you thinking about so hard over there?" Maggie asked, as she came back into the kitchen, causing Beth to jump as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

"Wha? Oh, nothing Maggie" she stammered as she turned back around to the sink, hoping her sister didn't see the blush starting to form on her cheeks. 'No such luck, see's everything' she thought as she heard Maggie take a seat at the table and start to chuckle.

"Bet you were thinking about a certain guy, about 6 foot, pretty blue eyes, arms like a god, carries a crossbow? I think his name might start with a D?" She said, then started giggling.

"HAHA, very funny Maggie" Beth said as she finished putting the last of the dishes away and turned to face her older sister.

"Oh I'm just teasing, Bethy. Were you really thinking about Daryl?" She asked as she looked her sister in the eye. Beth really didn't want to talk about what she was feeling, but if there was anybody that could possibly help her make sense of everything, it was Maggie.

"Yes, I was" Beth said as she sat down and placed her head on the table and mumbled something else.

"What was that?" Maggie asked, a smile on her face.

"Nothing. I've just got a lot on my mind and I'm trying to sort it out." Beth replied as she picked her head back up and looked at her sister.

"Ok, spill. Big Sister Maggie is in and seeing patient number 1. Miss Greene, if you could please explain what your issue is?" Maggie asked in her best professional voice, causing Beth to start laughing.

"Well Big Sister Maggie, I am happy but worried at the same time?" Beth started, her laughter dying away.

"Happy and worried about Daryl?" Maggie asked

"I am starting to care about him Maggie" Beth stated softly, causing Maggie to raise her eyebrow

"I thought you already did care about him. Your close friend's right?" Maggie asked, understanding what her sister was saying but wanting her to admit it herself.

"Maggie, I care about him as more than a friend" Beth whispered as she looked back up to the smiling face of her sister.

"Bout time you admitted it" Maggie said with a chuckle, causing Beth to smack her on the arm.

"It's not funny Maggie. What if he really doesn't see me like that. What if I tell him and scare him off? He is new to even having a friendship, so I'm sure something more than that will send him running the other way and I can't lose him, even if we just stay friends." She said softly as she turned her eyes away from Maggie and looked at the table. "He called me his angel last night" she continued just as softly, still looking at the table and missing the soft smile that formed back on Maggie's lips. "What if I let him down? I could never forgive myself if I hurt him in anyway"

"Bethy, look at me" Maggie started, gripping her sisters hand across the table and waiting till her sisters blue eyes met hers. "All of those 'what if's' will get you nowhere. You will drive yourself crazy. Now, I'm going to tell you what I have seen in the past few days that you and Daryl have been here. That man cares about you, I think more than he even knows. I do think you are right in the fact that you need to take it slow, because he is as skittish as a new colt. But neither of you are fooling anybody in saying that whatever is going on between you two is just friendship. What you two have is special! "

Beth smiled at her sisters words and squeezed her hand. "I know. We do have something special. I knew there was something about him the first time I saw him, and then when he came to me after Shane and I had it out, I just knew he was special. He has a sweet heart, under all of that gruff and tough attitude. I just don't want to hurt it"

"Bethy, you could never hurt him. You have fallen hard haven't you?"

"I really have" Beth breathed out.

* * *

Daryl had been in the woods all morning, thinking about the same things that Beth had been. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that what they had was just a friendship, but he didn't know exactly what it was. He knew he liked her, thought she was beautiful, strong, and smart, and that he would kill anybody that even looked at her wrong. But what all did that mean?

"It means you do got it bad lil brother" Merle's voice told him with a cackle as he kept walking. He knew Merle's voice was right, that he did have it bad for the little blond. That somehow she was crawled her way into his heart. He just didn't know how to proceed now that she was there. Before he could dwell on that thought he heard a twig snap and a cry that sounded human, like a small child. Daryl narrowed his eyes, raised his crossbow and listened hard. He heard the wind thru the trees, the squirrel on the next tree and then another soft sob, coming from the bush across from him. He slowly crept over, and moved the branches of the bush out of the way. He was on high alert for anything to jump out at him, but he was not prepared for the sight that he saw.

"Sophia?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi Everybody! Thank you to all of the new fav's and reviews toward this story. I have been crazy busy with work, but I wanted to get something out to you, even if it is a shorter one. Hope you like it!**

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"Sophia?" Daryl said softly, surprise overtaking him at the sight before him. The little girl he knew from the camp was curled up into a ball, shivering and hiding her face in her knees. Not wanting to spook the girl, he thought for a second 'What would Beth do in this situation'. Slowly he knelt down, so he was level with the frightened girl and spoke as softly as he could.

"Sophia. Do ya remember me? My name is Daryl. I was in the group you and your Momma was with" he held his breath after he spoke, hoping the girl would calm down some. Slowly, after what felt like forever, she turned her head slightly, looked at him and nodded her head.

"Good, I'm goin' ta pick ya up now, so don't be scared ok. I'm gunna take ya back to where I'm stayin' with Beth. You remember Beth right? The pretty girl that sang to ya by the fire" He said as he slowly leaned forward to take the girl in his arms. As soon as he touched her, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck with a strength he didn't think she would have for a kid that weighed almost nothing. He thought for a second to check her for wounds and bites but thought against it, deciding that Hershel and Beth would be better at doing that than him. He also wondered what happened, how she got out here in the middle of nowhere, but those questions could be left for later as well. He knew that none of the group was out this way, he had not seen any sign of human activity. He secured the frightened girl in one arm, softly whispering that it would all be ok, kept the crossbow ready to fire in the other arm and headed back toward the farm.

* * *

Beth and Maggie were out on the porch, cleaning vegetables from the garden when Maggie spotted something in the distance.

"Looks like Daryl is carrying something. Wonder what he got?" She asked as Beth stood and placed her hand above her eyes to cover the glare from the sun.

"Oh my goodness" Beth breathed out as she was able to make out Daryl and his bundle. "Daddy, come quick" she called into the house and took off toward Daryl, Maggie right on her heels. She vaguely made out the sound of the screen door opening and shutting, her mind totally on Daryl and the little girl he was carrying.

"Daryl, oh my god. Where did you find her? Sophia? Is she ok?" Beth asked, gently stroking the hair of the little girl now asleep in Daryl's arms.

"I don't know. I found her hiding in a bush in the woods. I don't know how she got there or where her Momma or the group is. She was scared to death, so once I got her to let me pick her up I brought her right here. I thought you or your Daddy could check her out." He said gruffly, meeting her beautiful blue eyes with his. She nodded her agreement as Hershel reached them.

"Let's get her inside Daryl. What's her name?" Hershel asked as he led the way back into the house and toward the main floor bedroom, which was his.

"Her name is Sophia. She was in the group that Beth and I had left. Her Momma's name is Carol. Got no clue what she was doin' out this way. Last time we saw them they were headed toward Fort Benning" Daryl said, as he laid her down on the bed and stood back, letting Beth and Hershel look her over.

"Well she seems ok. She is exhausted and malnourished with a few bruises and scrapes, but nothing else." Hershel said, causing Beth and Daryl to release breaths they didn't know they were holding. Beth stood back up from the bed and turned to him, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tight. He returned the gesture as she kept hold of his hand and turned back to watch Sophia sleeping. They stood watching the little girl, until her Daddy and Maggie had both left the room. After a few moments she turned to look at Daryl, worry plaguing her beautiful eyes.

"I wonder how she got out there all alone. Where is everybody else?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on, silent tears running down her face. She knew she shouldn't but she felt so safe in his arms.

"I don't know Beth. Gunna have to wait till she wakes up to find out" he said in a gruff voice as he held onto her. She pulled back and looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you go and get cleaned up, grab something for lunch since you missed it. I'm gunna sit in here with her in case she wakes up. I want her to see a familiar face. It had to be so scary for her" she said as she turned and looked at Sophia. She felt Daryl move one of his arms from around her and then felt his finger on her cheek, wiping a few stray tears away. She looked back up and smiled at him, then took his hand into hers and squeezed it. He squeezed it back and then turned and left the room, casting one last glance back at Beth and Sophia before he exited the door. Beth smiled at him and then turned and sat down in the chair beside the bed, taking Sophia's small hand into hers and started to softly pray, thanking God for putting Daryl on the path today that led him to Sophia. She also prayed that the rest of the group was ok. She hoped when Sophia woke up she could tell them what happened.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you to everybody who has stuck by me with this story and my other ones. I swear that they are not abandoned, just put on hold. Hope you like this chapter!**

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Beth was holding Sophia's hand later that evening, wondering what happened to the little girl, and how she got out into the woods by her house when she felt a slight squeeze from the small hand in hers, causing her to look up in time to see the little girl in questions eyes flutter open. She saw the panic there until her eyes locked onto Beth's and then recognition set in. The tears started as soon as Beth moved to sit on the bed, Sophia moving into her arms and sobbing into her chest. She heard the door open and turned to see Daryl and Hershel come in, Maggie hanging back at the door.

"Shhh…..its ok Sophia. Your safe now" Beth said softly as she ran her hands thru the girls sandy blond hair. She felt Sophia calm as her sobbing slowed down.

"Can you tell us what happened? How you got in the woods?" Beth asked her quietly as she pulled her away just enough to look at her face. She felt the bed dip beside her and she didn't need to turn to know that Daryl had sat beside her. She would have known anyway, but the way that the little girl that had been in her arms had already moved and was now crying into his chest was also a dead giveaway. Daryl looked up and met Beth's blue eyes with a look of shock and worry. He didn't know how to deal with a crying girl, so he just did what he saw Beth do and ran his hand down her hair.

"Can ya tell us what happened Sweetheart?" Daryl asked softly, grateful that Beth, Hershel and Maggie were there but he also felt a little embarrassed that out of everybody, the scared girl clung to him. He didn't understand that, not when the other three were in the room too. 'Prolly cuz I found 'er' he thought to himself as he waited to see if she would answer. After a few moments a small voice broke thru of the sobs.

"We stopped on a road" *sob* "there was a bunch of cars" *sob* "we were all looking thru them when a bunch of those things came thru" *sob* "I hid under a car like Mr. Grimes told me too" *sob* "I moved before I was told too and one of them saw me so I ran into the woods" by this time she was calming down some but she still clung to Daryl. "Mr. Grimes found me, but there was 2 of them around us. He told me to hide and so he could distract them. I did until another one saw me and I ran. I couldn't find my way back. I want my Mom" she cried as she buried her head into Daryl's chest. Daryl looked up into Beth's eyes, seeing the tears building from the girl's story. He turned to look at Hershel and Maggie, the un-asked question in his eyes.

"From the way you came, they were most likely on the highway. There is a ton of cars stranded up there" Maggie said as she moved further into the room.

"Alright, I'll go in the mornin' on ta bike and check it out" Daryl stated gruffly, still running his hand down Sophia's hair. He felt another hand grab his feel one and looked over to see Beth smiling softly at him and Sophia. He grinned a little and turned down to look at the girl in his arms. "Ya hungry Sweetheart?" Sophia pulled herself away just enough to nod her head but did not release her hold on him, so he just stood and carried her into the kitchen, Beth and the others following behind them.

* * *

As dinner went on, all of them could see that Sophia was still exhausted so at the end saw a very sleepy girl being carried into Beth's room by Daryl. As he tried to lay her down on the bed, she sleepily grabbed a hold of his hand and tried pulling him into the bed. "Don't leave me" was spoken so softly but still loud enough for both of them to hear. He looked up at Beth and raised his eyebrow. She just shrugged as a reply. Bending down he whispered to the little girl "Ya sure you don't want Beth instead?" The reply of "Both" brought a smile to Beth's face as she came around to the other side of the bed and leaned down "Ok sweetie, I'll go get dressed for night first and then Daryl can go after me, so we don't leave you alone. How does that sound?" The reply of "Thank you" sealed their night for them.

When Daryl entered back into the room a few minutes later, he found Beth laying on one side of Sophia, the little girl clinging to her. When he slowly laid himself onto the bed, the little girl grabbed his arm and pulled it around her, so now she was cocooned in between them. He met Beth's eyes for a few moments, the unspoken words and emotions running ramped. He knew she was concerned for the group, but more concerned for him going out there tomorrow. He grabbed her hand in his and held on as both of them fell asleep.

* * *

"Please be careful" Beth said as she wrapped her arms around him the next morning. He took a breath, if he was being honest with himself he would admit that he loved the feel of her arms around him, holding him tight.

"I'll be fine, I promise" he replied in a whisper in her ear as he softly kissed her cheek. He didn't plan it, and that fact that clear when she pulled away and saw the panic in his eyes. She smiled softly and stood up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "You better be" she replied with a soft smile, the blush gracing her cheeks made him think she was even more beautiful.

"Ok, you know which way to go right Daryl?" Hershel asked as he, Maggie and Sophia came out of the house. Otis had gone out hunting a little earlier that morning.

"Yup, got it all down" he replied as he felt a pair of small arms wrap around him.

"Please find my Mom, Daryl" Sophia asked as she looked up at him.

"I'll do my best. If they are not where you left them, I'll look around until it starts getting dark and then head back" the little girl smiled at him and squeezed him tight. He looked up at Beth to see that she agreed with his plan. He could tell that she wanted to go too, but the bike would be able to get thru the traffic and if he found them, he wanted to be able to get Carol back here.

He nodded one more time at all of them and hopped on the bike, taking off down the road. Beth felt Maggie's arms wrap around her from behind.

"He'll be fine Beth, you know that" Maggie stated firmly.

"Of course he will. He's really brave" Sophia stated, the conviction in her voice caused them all to laugh a little. As they all turned back to go inside, the door slamming as something caught Beth's eye and she turned back around. After a moment she could make it out and almost froze on the spot.

"Oh shit! Daddy" she yelled at her father's retreating back as she ran down the front porch stairs, toward the man running toward them in the field carrying who Beth knew was his son.


End file.
